Fresh Eyes
by gryffindorwriter
Summary: Sylvie Brett is a little awkward, shy but confident in certain situations, and awful at love. Antonio Dawson is confident, outgoing, dedicated to his work, and awful at love. But, naturally, what happens when two people who can't find love with others start to love each other? A Brettonio Story, focused on the developing romance between the two!
1. Chapter 1 - You Didn't See The Look

**Hey, guys! This is my first time attempting to write a Chicago Fire/PD story, but I love Brettonio and decided to give it a go! I hope you like it.**

"Morning, Brett, good day off?" Gabby greeted, smiling at Sylvie as she walked into the firehouse. It had been a day since they'd seen each other, having had their usual 24 hours off. She was ready to get back into it.

Sylvie nodded at her and smiled back. "Yeah, it was good! I feel like I could take on the world or something with the amount of rest I've had, really."

Gabby grinned at her. "Of course you do, of course," she said, leaning back in the chair she was sitting on at the table. She had a bowl of cereal in front of her and Sylvie made her way to the kitchen to grab something to eat herself, feeling suddenly hungry at seeing that Gabby had food.

The firehouse was surprisingly quiet for so early in the morning, and Sylvie would have thought that there were no firefighters here if she hadn't spotted Severide sleepily making his way to their beds as she walked in the door, figuring he hadn't slept well last night.

Sylvie sat down beside Gabby and spooned some of her cereal into her mouth, enjoying the taste of it. She'd gone for the sweeter stuff they had here, wanting to wake herself up so that they'd be ready whenever their first call was today. She suspected it'd be a few hours of waiting until they were called, considering it wasn't even 8am, and most accidents happened after nine.

"How about you?" Sylvie asked. Gabby looked up and furrowed her eyebrows. "Oh, your day off - what did you do?"

"Oh, not much," Gabby shrugged. "Matt and I mostly just stayed at home with Louie. He's great, you know? Matt's so much happier with him than I thought he would be."

Sylvie felt happy for Gabby - she and Matt were the only couple in the firehouse and now that they had Louie to look after, Sylvie felt like they were becoming a real family now. She loved the happiness that both Louie and Matt brought to Gabby and hoped it'd stay that way forever.

"What did you do anyway? You never said. Other than that you got a hell of a lot of rest," Gabby inquired, taking a sip of the orange juice she'd gotten to accompany her cereal.

"I slept, mostly. I also made some really good chicken stir-fry - I could make it here for lunch or dinner one day, if you'd like. It was a recipe from my mom ages ago. I think everyone here would really like it, even Severide, who we all know can get fussy from time to time," Sylvie chuckled.

Gabby grinned at her. "I'll agree to that any day. Both, I mean - Severide being fussy and you cooking your award winning stir-fry."

* * *

Their first call of the day came just before 11am and the firehouse was buzzing as everyone ran to get into the trucks. Sylvie hurried after Gabby to the ambo, which was waiting for them beside Truck 81. Gabby had been driving every second shift for the past week since she'd been back on ambo, so Sylvie happily took her seat in the passenger seat and Gabby began to drive them to the scene, following Truck 81 to the scene.

It wasn't too rare for them to get something so bad that the police were involved, but Sylvie was shocked at seeing the amount of police as they pulled up, spotting a few plain clothed ones in between the uniforms. Gabby and Sylvie hurried to the back of the ambo and pulled out the gurney, rushing around to the scene to wait for their first patient to turn up.

The squad and truck guys had already gone inside to fight the fire that had taken over the building in front of them and the two girls waited. Sylvie could see the nerves on Gabby's face at the fact that Matt was inside a burning building - it was always the same look, and even though he was fine, she understood why she was nervous for him.

"Chief, what's the situation?" Gabby called, seeing Boden near them. He made his way over to them to brief them on what they were expecting.

"Normal residence, a few witnesses said they saw someone setting it on fire before running out. CPD are questioning witnesses now. It's expected that there'll be at least one or two people inside, judging on who the neighbours say live here. There's another ambo coming from Med in case."

Sylvie nodded, turning her gaze back over to the house, instantly rushing forward when she saw Cruz and Matt pulling someone out of the house. Gabby rushed after her, the two of them working with Cruz and Matt to pull him onto the gurney and get everything sorted.

"Smoke inhalation, mostly. Say's he's got a pain in his chest." Matt said, nodding at the two of them before he and Cruz headed back inside.

"Okay, sir, how are you feeling now you're outside? Are you okay?" Sylvie asked as she and Gabby wheeled him over to the ambo. She felt slightly relieved at the fact that he was okay and it was only smoke inhalation. Mostly with fires, she needed to intubate the victims, yet this man seemed okay.

"I'm fine, just get my wife outta there!" He coughed. Sylvie nodded at him.

"We're working on that, sir. We are. The firefighters are inside finding her right now. You're okay, she's going to be okay. We've just got to take you to the ambo to get you checked out. How's your chest feeling?"

"I'm fine, I told you! My chest feels fine, it's just the damned smoke from that place. I don't need to be checked out." He exclaimed. Gabby and Sylvie stopped at the ambo, ready to load him up when he sat up suddenly.

"Sir, I'm going to need for you to sit down so we can load you up safely." Gabby spoke, trying to push him back down.

"I'm not going anywhere until they've got my wife out of that hellhole, lady." He swung his legs over the side, attempting to get off the gurney.

Sylvie frowned and stepped closer toward him, placing a hand on his shoulder to stabilise him as he finally touched the ground and stood. "I'm going to have to ask for you to get into the ambulance, sir. It's important to get you checked out. Your wife's going to be okay, the firefighters are inside right now but what's important is for you to get checked out back at Med."

She could see him becoming easily agitated and frowned as he locked his gaze onto hers. "I'm not going to the hospital. I'm not going anywhere with you, lady, so let me go. I'm not getting checked out." He shook off Sylvie's hold on his shoulder, knocking into her as he attempted to get back to the house where his wife was.

He found his path blocked, though, by a plain clothed officer, his gaze locked straight onto his. "I suggest you get back into that ambo before you cause any more trouble here, sir." Antonio suggested, his voice strong and fierce as he spoke to the man.

"You don't want to get tied up with the CPD, do you? I think you should listen to these ladies here and do as you're told, or you're going to be in more trouble than you already are in."

The man rolled his eyes before turning around and stepping into the ambulance, waiting for one of them to get in the back with him. Gabby turned to her brother. "Hey, Tonio - thanks."

"No problem," he nodded, turning to Sylvie. "Hey, you good? I saw him knock into you and he's a pretty big guy. Your shoulder okay?"

Sylvie nodded at him, rubbing her shoulder. "Yeah, nothing I can't handle. Thanks for getting him in there, Antonio." He nodded back at her.

"You need me to tag along to Med in case he tries something again?"

Gabby shrugged. "You wanna drive, Brett? I'm fine in here with him if you don't want to be."

Sylvie shook her head. "No, I'm fine. You drive, Dawson." Gabby had already put the gurney back into the ambulance and nodded, jumping out of the ambulance and heading to the front.

"Give us a knock when we're good to go," she said before getting back into the ambo up front.

Sylvie sent a nod to Antonio and climbed into the back, sitting across from the man and watching him. She found herself shocked when Antonio climbed in after, closing the doors behind him and banging on the doors to let Gabby know to go.

"I'm fine in here by myself, you know?"

"Yeah, I know. But you didn't see that look on Gabby's face telling me to get in here incase Mr. Muscles over here tries something again."


	2. Chapter 2 - Out Of The Ordinary

**Thanks for the response on my first chapter, wow! It means so much that you're all really liking this story, so here's chapter 2! I hope you like it too.**

The ride to the hospital and back to the firehouse had been a quiet one between Gabby and Brett, both of them keeping to themselves after the seriousness of their last call. They'd seen the other ambo arrive at Med with the mans wife just before they left, and Sylvie had been happy to find out that she'd made it out of the fire alive.

Antonio had stayed at Med to question the two of them when they were done being checked up, and after saying goodbye to both Gabby and Sylvie, had disappeared to talk to a few of the doctors and check up with Voight. Gabby pulled into the firehouse again and jumped out of the truck, Sylvie following in her footsteps. It was barely even lunch time and Sylvie was tired. She didn't know how she'd make it through the rest of her shift.

"Hey, Dawson," Sylvie called, catching up to her just as she was about to enter the firehouse. "You know I was good back there, right? With the victim?"

Gabby nodded at her. "I know, but I've met guys like him before, and so has Antonio. I wasn't leaving you in the back with him when he'd already tried something before. I'm looking out for you, Sylvie. Always will be."

Sylvie sent her a kind smile and nodded. "I suppose it can't be so bad to have someone looking out for me, right?" She chuckled, opening up the door of the firehouse for Gabby, who grinned at her and walked in. The firehouse was empty because the trucks hadn't come back yet, though Sylvie knew they wouldn't be too far behind them.

"What are you eating?" Gabby asked her as she walked to the fridge and grabbed out a carton of orange juice, sitting it on the bench and grabbing a glass.

"I'm not sure. Should I get started on something for everyone when they get back? What's in the fridge?" Sylvie made her way to the fridge, pulling it open and looking inside. She frowned when she realised there wasn't much and headed into the pantry instead, grinning when she spied the pasta on the top shelf. "Dawson, is there any chicken in the fridge or the freezer? Grab it and thaw it out."

Gabby nodded and pulled some out of the freezer for her. "Connie bought it the other day, so it's good to eat. What are you cooking?" She asked, taking a sip of the orange juice she'd poured for herself.

"I," she began, walking towards Gabby with the pasta in hand. "am cooking chicken pasta bake. My mom used to make it when I was little and I loved it. I figured the guys would like it when they get back. Home cooked meals are better than anything they're planning on having, I'm telling you."

Gabby could only agree as she set to boiling the pasta and helping Brett in any way she could.

* * *

"Damn, Brett, what are you, a secret chef or something?" Severide chuckled, taking a bite of his pasta bake.

The guys had gotten back half an hour after Brett and Dawson had, and had been incredibly happy when they realised they were getting a warm, cooked lunch rather than the corned beef sandwiches Brett knew they were all planning on having.

"Well, I can't tell you that, Severide. So, you'll just have to enjoy the pasta bake and figure it out yourself," she shrugged, grinning at him and taking a bite of her own. The whole pasta bake she'd cooked had gone now. Everyone had gotten a decent sized serving of it and, much to Mouch's annoyance, there were no seconds in sight.

"Hey, Severide, you're forgetting the crucial detail here - I helped," Gabby called from the table across the room. "I boiled the pasta and I spread the cheese over the top. So, really, either of us could be a secret chef."

Casey scoffed from beside her. Gabby narrowed her eyes in on him in confusion. "What's that for?"

"Do you not remember that time you tried to make me a birthday cake last year and you burnt it?" He chuckled.

Gabby rolled her eyes. "Okay, that was one time, Matt. And it was because we were preoccupied with other things!"

"Woah, woah, woah, hold your horses, Gabby. We're eating lunch here," Herrmann called, holding up the bowl of pasta bake. "And it tastes good, so I'd like to actually enjoy it in peace without hearing about your love life."

Gabby grinned at him and rolled her eyes.

The firehouse was quiet for a few moments as everyone ate, only stopping to look up as Boden walked into the room, followed by Antonio and Jay from the Police Department.

"Dawson, Brett, the detectives have to talk to you two about something that happened at the scene this morning."

Brett shot a confused look at Dawson, who gave her a similar one in return as they stood up from their lunch and followed Antonio and Jay out of the kitchen and into the meeting room beside it, taking a seat across from either of them.

"What's going on, Tonio?" Gabby asked her brother, looking at him in utter confusion. Brett understood - there was nothing out of the ordinary about what had happened this morning, but there must have been some new revelation that had to do with Brett and Dawson in some way.

"This morning, did you notice the victim the two of you took to Med acting odd or different before I turned up? What was he saying?" Antonio began, leaning forward in his chair.

Sylvie shook her head at him. "No, nothing out of the ordinary. He just said he didn't want to go to the hospital and that he wasn't leaving until his wife was outside. What's going on?"

Jay took a deep breath and frowned at the two of them. "We questioned both of the victims at Med, but after looking into our databases, their names couldn't be found anywhere. They're virtually invisible in Chicago. Both of them. There's no evidence that the two of them are married either. We asked them if they'd been charged with anything before, and the man the two of you took to Med admitted that he'd been charged for sexual assault before. But since there's nothing on him in the database, we can't find any evidence against him for it, nothing that could explain what happened with the fire at his house this morning."

"What we're asking is if the two of you noticed anything out of the ordinary about him. Anything that seemed off or different about him before I stopped him from charging back into that house after he almost knocked you over, Brett." Antonio explained, raising his eyebrows at the two of them.

Gabby shook her head. "No, there really was nothing I can think of. He just seemed like a normal man who was worried about their wife."

Sylvie almost agreed with her until she realised something. "No, wait - he seemed really against getting checked out. Like, more than any normal victim would be. Even if he was worried about his wife, he really didn't want to go to Med for some reason. But he stopped when you showed up, Antonio." She spoke, watching as Antonio nodded at her. "But in the ambo, he was fine. He didn't speak the whole way there, and he suddenly seemed to accept that he was going to Med, just because you, an officer, was there with us. Maybe I'm just reading into things too much, but there was definitely something there about being worried around the police."

Antonio nodded at her. "Now that you mention it, he didn't say a word the whole way to Med, and he stopped resisting when I was there. You're right."

Jay and Antonio stood up, thanking Brett and Dawson for helping with the investigation. Gabby followed Jay out of the meeting room, yet Antonio stopped Brett just as she was about to leave.

"Your shoulder's feeling good? No pain or anything from where he knocked you?" He asked, his eyebrows furrowed in worry.

"No, nothing," Brett nodded, sending him a kind smile and stepping out of the meeting room. "Hey, good luck with the investigation on this guy. I hope you get something."

Antonio smiled at her as he headed back to the door. "Thanks for your help, Sylvie."


	3. Chapter 3 - You're Dead, Brett

**Thanks for reviewing and loving this story! Here's to more Brettonio!**

"You gonna head to Molly's tonight?" Stella asked as she followed Gabby and Sylvie out of the firehouse. Their shift had ended and it was just after 7am the following day. All of them were tired, and Sylvie couldn't wait until she could head home and sleep for most of the day. She'd managed to get a few hours in between calls but it wasn't enough to keep her stamina up.

"Yeah, I'm working with Herrmann and Otis tonight, so if you end up coming I'll see you there, crack a drink with you or something," Gabby shrugged, heading down toward her car. "Anyway, I'll see you all later - Matt's just talking to Boden and then we're going home. Don't wanna keep you two from your exciting lives out of the firehouse."

"Oh, okay, Gabby," Stella grinned, "we have _very_ exciting lives out of the firehouse. Right, Brett?" She nudged her, smiling.

"Stella's right, Gabby. We lead the lives many wish they did outside of work hours," she chuckled at the two of them. "I'm going to head home, though. I'll pop into Molly's tonight if I get the chance. See you two later!"

Sylvie waved goodbye to the two of them and headed back over to her car, hopping inside and starting it up before pulling out and making the drive back to her apartment. Now that Gabby had Louie, she'd moved in with Matt and Sylvie was living alone again. She didn't mind it, though. She'd managed to get some more money together to rent an apartment in a slightly better part of town, and it was nice to not have to live on edge all the time considering what had happened at her old place.

She'd barely changed into her pyjamas when she got back home before she fell onto her bed, burying her head into her pillow and falling asleep.

* * *

Sylvie woke hours later to the sound of knocking, heavy on her front door. She sat up sleepily, confused as to who was knocking on her door this late in the afternoon. She'd fallen asleep a little after 9:30am, and now it was 5:43pm. She'd figured that she'd head to Molly's around 7 or 8, anyway.

She sighed, getting up and heading to the front door, running her fingers through her blonde hair to get rid of some of the knots in it from sleep. Her eyes moved to the peephole in the door and she frowned, seeing nobody standing outside. Grabbing her mobile from the table by the door where she'd left it with her keys, she hesitated before pulling the door open and taking a look outside.

There was nobody in sight, and just as she was about to close the door, she spotted the folded piece of paper just at the bottom of it. She knelt down and picked it up, closing the door behind her and walking over to the couch, sitting down before she opened it.

 _TELL THE POLICE ANYTHING ELSE AND YOU'RE DEAD, SYLVIE BRETT._

Sylvie felt her heart stop, rising to her feet in shock. She felt the deja vu in her mind at the fact that she'd had threats like this before. Only a few months ago. But she couldn't understand where it had come from this time. Was it about yesterdays call? It had to be. She didn't tell anything of real importance to Antonio and Jay in her mind, but it apparently was a bigger deal than she realised.

She frowned and quickly opened up a new message to Gabby. _Are you working now?_

She received a text quickly after. _Yeah, Stella's here. Come in for a drink._

Without a second thought, Sylvie rushed to her bedroom and changed out of her pyjamas into a pair of jeans and a nice shirt - she needed to look at least somewhat presentable. After brushing her hair and putting on a tiny bit of make-up, she pulled on a pair of flats and left the apartment with keys, mobile and the note in hand.

Sylvie couldn't shake of the feeling that she was being watched as she walked through the corridors and down into the parking lot, but it wasn't long before she'd reached her car and had slid inside it, instantly leaving the parking lot and heading for Molly's. She didn't plan on drinking anything tonight, not wanting to get too drunk with what had just happened. It was just past six when she arrived, pulling over just outside Molly's and making her way inside, trying to look as though she wasn't worried at all.

There weren't too many people in Molly's yet - they didn't get too busy until later, yet Herrmann, Otis and Gabby were all behind the bar, talking and serving drinks to the few people that were there. She spotted Cruz and Capp sitting up one end of the bar, and Stella sitting further up near Gabby.

"Brett, hey! How's your day been?" Stella greeted her, patting the seat beside her, which she took gratefully.

"Uh, full of sleep, actually." She smiled back at her, hoping the unease about the note in her pocket wasn't evident in her voice.

"No surprises there," Gabby grinned, stopping in front of them. "Whatcha drinking?"

Sylvie thought for a moment, "Just water for now, Gabby," she nodded.

Gabby looked shocked at her choice, yet nodded and worked on grabbing her one, before placing one on the bench before her. "Drink up."

* * *

"Anyway, this guy in front of me, just stopped his car and got out and walked away. Right on the goddamned motor way. I almost got out of that car and chased after him to tell him to get back in his car so we could drive, and I would have if Gabby hadn't stopped me and told me that if he wasn't back in ten minutes she'd go after him herself," Stella laughed, taking a sip of her beer. "This chick's nuts, Brett. You surely gotta know that by now. I don't know how you deal with her on the ambo."

Sylvie chuckled, shaking her head. "I'm not sure how I do, either."

Gabby rolled her eyes at her. "Oh, you wish, Sylvie. I'm the highlight of your day, you can't even deny it, can you?"

It had been a few hours, and now outside was dark. Molly's was getting fuller by the minute and even more people that Sylvie recognised had arrived - Dr. Halstead with Dr. Manning from Med, Lindsay, Ruzek and Jay Halstead from over at 21, and most recently, Antonio Dawson.

He'd taken a seat a little further up from Stella, Sylvie and Gabby and had already downed at least two beers in the time he'd been there. Sylvie had still not drunk a drop. Stella excused herself to use the bathroom and Sylvie decided to ask Gabby about what'd happened that evening.

"Hey, uh, Gabby, can I ask you something? Completely confidential."

Gabby nodded, leaning onto the bar and looking at her, confused. "Yeah, sure. What's going on?"

Sylvie hesitated, thinking over what to say in her mind. She sighed, figuring it'd be best to just tell the truth. "Tonight, I woke up to knocking on my door, and I, uh, when I checked, all I found was this note." She pulled it from her pocket and showed it to Gabby, who read it, her eyes looking up to Sylvie in worry.

"Again?"

"It can't be the same people as before, you were there when he died. But I, uh, I think it might have been that man from the call yesterday morning. We spoke to Jay and Antonio about them, so maybe they're part of a bigger thing than just one man."

Gabby nodded, before turning to where Antonio was sitting. "Tonio, come here a second!"

He looked up at her, confused, before moving down to where they were sitting and taking the seat Stella had been sat on before. "What's going on, Gabby?"

"Sylvie said she got this note delivered to her place earlier tonight. She thinks it may have been that man who you questioned us about yesterday."

Antonio took the letter and read it, his face growing more worried with each word. "This is proof that it must be more than a one man show. We've still got both him and his wife in custody, and there's no way they could get a message to you. Do you live alone?" He asked her, looking up to Sylvie's worried face.

"Yeah, I do, why?" Sylvie frowned.

"You're coming to stay with Matt, Louie and I. That's final. Until this all blows over. Matt won't mind, and Louie loves you." Gabby quickly said, realising what Antonio was saying.

Antonio nodded at her. "Can you come down to the station with me, Sylvie? We'll ask you a few questions, and I'll come back to your apartment with you to grab your things. Just until this all blows over."

Sylvie took a deep breath, nodding. "Yeah, of course. I- is everything going to be okay? This isn't going to be like last time is it?"

She didn't miss the look of worry that flashed through Antonio's mind at the mention of what had happened before. He shook his head at her, standing up from the chair. "You're with the best protectors in this city, Sylvie. You're perfectly safe, don't worry yourself with this. It'll all blow over in time. You're going to be okay."


	4. Chapter 4 - Get What I Mean?

**Thanks so much for the response on this! I'm so glad you're all liking it. Let me know anything else you want in this story and I'll try and fit stuff in - like any other ships from other Chicago shows, all that! Enjoy all the Brettonio in this chapter!**

"Antonio, are you sure it wouldn't be safer for me to just stay where I am? I don't want to endanger Gabby, Matt and Louie by staying at their place." Sylvie sighed, looking over at Antonio as they drove.

They'd just been to the station and were now heading back to Sylvie's apartment so she could grab her stuff and go back to Gabby and Matt's place. She couldn't help but feel like she'd been here before - with everything on the line so suddenly. But she had Antonio and Gabby to take care of her and she was grateful.

"We'll have a patrol car outside their house at all times to make sure that you're okay. If there's a threat to you, there's a threat to Gabby too. You were both on call that day. There's no reason why anyone would want to hurt you specifically when you were working with Gabby on the day."

Sylvie nodded at him, knotting her fingers together in her lap. "I can still work, though, right? I'm not confined to the house or anything?"

Antonio chuckled and shook his head. "You can work, we'll put a patrol outside the firehouse too to make sure you and Gabby are fine. It's like before, with what we did for you a few months back. You've got everyone looking out for you, Brett. There's little reason to be worried about it all. Everything'll sort itself out soon enough." He shrugged.

Sylvie smiled at him and nodded again. "I suppose so," she muttered, her eyes moving to look out the window. She didn't understand why she'd been targeted again, and couldn't help but think that her ex-fiancé was right. He'd thought she wouldn't be able to handle life here in Chicago, but she'd fought to prove him wrong. She'd fought to work hard and prove that she could handle it. But now that this had happened twice, she couldn't help but think that she was close to breaking point.

Antonio pulled up outside of her apartment building after a few more minutes of driving from the station and the two of them exited the car, making their way upstairs to the third floor where her apartment was. She unlocked the door and let Antonio step in first to check that everything was fine before following him. The apartment was exactly as she'd left it.

"Just grab the essentials and things you'll need for, at most, a few weeks. Shove them into a bag you have and we can get out of here sooner," Antonio instructed her, following her into her bedroom where she pulled a black duffle bag from underneath her bed and hastily began to shove clothes and other essentials in it. After ten minutes, she'd cleaned out everything she needed and, with her favourite pillow underarm, followed Antonio out of the apartment.

"You live in a good part of town, but there's no reason to think there isn't a threat here. You live alone, so you're a prime target. You're better off safe with Gabby and Matt. And I can guarantee that they'll both love you hanging around so you can look after Louie when they're busy." He chuckled.

Sylvie shook her head and grinned at him as they walked downstairs. "I keep to myself a lot of the time anyway. I did when I lived with Gabby before. I'm a professional at that - keeping away from places where I'm not wanted." She shrugged at him, following him through the front door of the building and back to the car.

It was much later at night now, nearing almost 11pm, and she was feeling incredibly tired. Considering the fact she was going to have to go back to work in the morning, she couldn't wait to get back to Gabby and Matt's and get a decent night sleep.

"What time do you start your shift tomorrow?" Antonio asked, pulling off the curb and beginning the drive across town to Gabby's place. "I'll come by and check on you and Gabby before I head into the station."

"I start at 7:00am, but make sure you come by early. Calls can come at any time, and I don't think Voight'd like to hanging around doing nothing at the firehouse while you could be working."

Antonio shrugged. "He's got the others there, and he understands our priority toward family after what happened with his son. Work always comes first, of course, but family's right up there too."

Sylvie nodded at him, hugging her pillow to her chest and glancing at the clock on the dashboard. 10:57pm. She stifled a yawn and rested her head on her pillow. Antonio chuckled beside her.

"Feeling a bit tired?"

"Well, a 24 hour shift, a death threat and a sudden change of address can do that to you." She shrugged. Antonio grinned beside her, tapping his fingers on the wheel and shaking his head in amusement.

* * *

"Hey, what happened to you last night?" Stella asked, taking a seat next to Sylvie at the table in the kitchen, a bowl of cereal in front of her. "One minute we were talking about that asshole on the road and next minute Gabby tells me you left with Antonio."

"She didn't explain it to you?" Sylvie frowned, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Well, okay, she did. But it sounded better to say you left with Antonio, if you get what I mean," Stella wiggled her eyebrows.

Sylvie let out a laugh and grinned at her friend. "Oh, come on, Stella. Give up with that, will you?"

Stella grinned back at her, shoving a spoon of cereal into her mouth. "Anyway, Gabby tells me you're staying with her and Matt now? How're they taking it?"

"As soon as I walked in the door, Matt hugged me, told me that everything would be okay and asked if I could watch Louie while he spoke to Antonio. I feel like that'll be my life for the next few weeks," she laughed. "But I don't mind, really. Louie is adorable, and Matt was really sweet."

Gabby dropped into the seat beside Stella. "What's that about Matt being sweet?" She asked, leaning on her arm on the table.

"He's sweet about me staying over, that's what I said."

Gabby grinned and nodded. "Isn't he just? Louie's glad you're staying too. I swear, that kid loves you like a second mother."

"Oh, I'd gladly take him off your hands whenever you need some space, don't doubt that for a second!" Sylvie smiled, leaning back in the chair and pulling her ponytail tighter.

She'd slept surprisingly well last night. Now that Severide wasn't living with Gabby and Matt anymore, she'd taken his room since Louie was sleeping in the same room as Gabby and Matt. The bed had been comfortable, and she'd set everything up to feel as much as home as possible before falling asleep. But she couldn't stop her mind from going into overdrive and giving her a headache, causing her to get up and take a few painkillers before heading back to sleep.

"Hey, Tonio!" Gabby called, waving her brother over. He'd stuck to his word and stopped by the firehouse early so that he'd be there when they were. He took a seat on the table beside her and gave her a smile.

"You two doing okay? Nothing happened overnight?" He asked, looking between Gabby and Sylvie. They each shook their heads. Everything had been perfectly normal. "That's good news. We're looking into all the details that note gave us, and it's proving to be good so far. Hopefully you won't have to be scavenging off of Gabby much longer."

Sylvie chuckled and shrugged. "I'm not scavenging. I'm perfectly capable of dealing with myself thank you, Antonio."

He sent her a grin, and just as he was about to speak again, the alarm sounded in the firehouse. "Squad 3, Truck 81, Ambulance 61. House Fire. 5341 South Hyde Park Boulevard."

Sylvie stood immediately, followed by Stella and Gabby, hurrying toward the door. Gabby and Stella passed her, hurrying out the door. As Sylvie was about to leave through the door too, a voice behind her stopped her.

"Hey, Sylvie!" Antonio called. She stopped, turning to look at him for a quick moment. "Stay safe out there."


	5. Chapter 5 - Don't Move

**Thanks for continuing to love this story: enjoy this chapter! I'm introducing a few new people from the shows that I'm sure you'll enjoy seeing!**

Sylvie awoke early on the next morning of her shift to the smell of pancakes. She grinned to herself as she pulled herself from her bed and headed to the small bathroom joined onto her room, quickly showering and freshening up before getting dressed in her uniform and heading out of her room.

Matt was in the kitchen, already dressed and ready for the day. Louie was on the couch watching television and Gabby was nowhere to be found. "Morning, Brett," Matt greeted her. "Pancake? I may not be the best cook, but Louie likes them so I can at least guarantee they're partly edible."

Sylvie chuckled and nodded, letting Matt serve her up two pancakes. She poured a considerable amount of maple syrup on them and sat at the bench, digging into them immediately. "Where's Gabby?"

"She's getting ready, woke up a bit late. Louie wouldn't go to sleep last night so she stayed up reading. Usually she cooks breakfast, but I took the duty today so she could sleep in a little longer. I've been up for an hour or so."

It was almost quarter past six in the morning and their shift started at 7:00am, meaning they'd have to leave the house soon to get there on time for their shift to start. There hadn't been any more threats or difficulties at work that Sylvie knew about, but she felt confident that Antonio would tell her if anything came up. She, however, had been trying to ignore the fact that she'd been thinking of Antonio out of the threat situation and more in a casual possibly more than a friendship way.

* * *

"Damn, this shift can't get any worse, can it?" Otis groaned, throwing himself onto the couch and kicking his feet up onto the coffee table in front of him.

"If you don't get your feet off that table I can guarantee it will," Severide chuckled, taking a seat on the round table behind the couches and picking up the newspaper he'd left there before their last call.

Sylvie followed him to the table and sat down, leaning back in the chair and looking at him with a frown on her face, hoping he'd notice. She hadn't seen Stella or Gabby come back inside yet since their call, but she couldn't blame them after how rude Severide had been to Stella back at the call.

They were both taking it tough after the incident with Grant at Molly's, where Severide had almost killed him. But Sylvie knew he'd taken it too far when he told Stella to get out of his way or he'd make her. It was obvious the two had feelings for one another, but Sylvie hated seeing her friends hurt. It tore at her insides that Severide wasn't reacting. She cleared her throat and raised her eyebrows at him.

He mimicked her expression. "What's up?"

"You know what's up, Kelly."

"Oh, come on? That argument with Stella? It's no big deal. It isn't. She was in my way and she knew it. It'll be old news by the end of shift, I can guarantee that." Severide shrugged, turning the page of the newspaper.

"Kelly, come on. I know you, and I know Stella. There's no way you'd treat her like that normally, so just apologise. It can't hurt. She's been through hell and back recently. Just... be nice, okay?" Sylvie sighed, moving to stand up.

"I'll apologise when you can tie down a real boyfriend, Brett," Kelly scoffed. She turned back to him, furrowing her eyebrows in annoyance.

"Just apologise to Stella, Kelly. Don't be a douche about it."

She turned her back to him and walked away, leaving the kitchen and heading to her bed, sighing in annoyance, but slightly agreeing with him at the fact that she knew it was virtually impossible for her to do.

* * *

"How's everything going over at the station?" Will Halstead asked, taking a sip of his drink and turning to Sylvie. She nodded at him, swallowing a sip of her own.

"It's been really good lately, tough, as always, but good. What's life like at Med? I feel like I've brought a ton of patients there lately but I haven't seen you. It's always been Nat or Ethan." She remembered.

Will nodded back at her. "Yeah, I've been busy most of this week. Hard to get away from patients to get a time to myself, you know. I'm surprised I even dragged myself to Molly's tonight. But Jay insisted. Told me I had to," he looked to the back of the room where Jay was sat. "I don't see why, though. He's spent the whole night with Erin. I suppose I'm just lucky you're here."

Sylvie chuckled, taking another sip of her drink. "Oh, tell me about it. I'm staying with Gabby and Matt right now, but I think I make a decent third wheel."

"You probably do. Plus they've got a kid now, right? You can just hang with that little guy." Will grinned.

"Oh, yeah. He's _very_ talkative. We speak daily about politics and the state of finance in America. A very wise child," Sylvie said, sarcastically. Will rolled his eyes and chuckled, shaking his head.

Both Gabby and Matt weren't at Molly's tonight. Sylvie had driven here on her own for two reasons: she needed a drink and to see her friends, and she had quietly hoped to run into Antonio here.

She had, instead, run into Will, though. They'd known each other through Med and he was great to talk to. Due to their jobs, they always had something to talk about. She knew, at least, that she could trust him to not want anything more than a friendship with her, which made her grateful. He was happily dating Nina Shore from over at Med, and the two of them seemed really happy. Sylvie couldn't help the feeling in the back of her mind that everyone around her was coupling up and that soon, she'd be the only one alone.

Sylvie and Will said their goodbyes just before 11:00pm, Sylvie leaving Will in Molly's to go to see Jay and Erin. She silently made her way to her car, humming as she did so, pulling the keys out of her bag.

Though, she stopped dead still as she saw her car. The windows were completely smashed in, glass covering the road and pavement around it, and the seats inside. The tires were all flat and popped and, from what she could see, a brown box sat on the front seat.

With shaking hands, she pulled her phone out of her bag, hitting the first number that came to mind. He answered with a worried "Sylvie?"

"Antonio," Sylvie whispered, hoping he'd be able to hear her. "How far away from Molly's are you? Because something else has happened."

She could hear movement on the other end of the line. "Sylvie? What's happened? Are you okay?"

Soon after, a car engine started and she nodded before remembering she was on the phone. "My car. It's - the windows are broken. Tires are flat. There's a - there's a box on the front seat."

She could tell that Antonio was driving from the sound of the engine and sighed in relief that he was on his way, having momentarily forgot that Jay, another police officer, was inside.

"Just hold still, don't move and don't touch the car. I'll be there in a few minutes. Don't do anything. Don't touch the box, you hear me? Just hold out until I'm there."


	6. Chapter 6 - Get It, Girl!

**Glad to see you all enjoyed that little cliffhanger on the last chapter. ;) I know this update is quick but I planned it in my head today and had to get it to the page and loved it so much I had to post it! Enjoy! (Especially enjoy all the cute friendships in this chapter!)**

Sylvie felt like a complete and utter fool. She was stronger than this. Stronger than the need to call a man to get her out of a tricky situation. Antonio still hadn't arrived yet, but he hadn't hung up the call either and was always making sure she was still there. She stepped forward slightly and felt the glass break under her feet, making her cringe. But she needed to see what was in the car, or more importantly, what was inside the box.

Before she could get to the front door of her car, though, Antonio's car pulled up speedily outside Molly's. Sylvie stopped, making it look like she'd been in the same place the whole way. She hadn't even noticed Antonio ending their call. He hurried toward her, slamming the car door and looking warily at the car. It was late, and Sylvie suddenly felt bad for making him leave his house at this hour.

"Damn, this is bad. I'm going to have to call Voight," Antonio sighed, shaking his head before turning to Sylvie. "You doing alright? I'll call Voight now, when he gets here I'll take you to the station and you can make a statement about all this."

Sylvie nodded at him, her eyes still glued to the box on the front seat of the car as Antonio called Voight. He only spoke a few words to him before hanging up and nudging Sylvie toward the door of Molly's. "It's freezing out here, let's head inside and wait for Voight before I take you back. Do you know what happened?"

"No, I was just talking to Will Halstead inside. It was getting late so I decided to leave and I walked outside to see all this," she shrugged. "Listen, uh, Antonio, I-I don't want to cause a fuss, I really don't. This is all such a big deal now, if it gets any worse Boden won't let me work and I can't leave Gabby with a bad partner..."

Antonio shook his head, gripping her arms and staring at her. "This was a big deal since the day you found that note at your apartment, Brett. Now, it's a bigger one. If Boden decides to take you off shift, Gabby will be completely capable of handling a new partner until you're back and ready to work. You're not causing a fuss at all, Sylvie."

She nodded at him slightly, letting Antonio lead her inside. He'd obviously spotted Jay, Erin and Will talking at the back corner of the bar and headed over to them quickly. "Could you guys watch Sylvie for a second? I need to go back outside and wait for Voight."

Erin nodded, looking at Antonio with a worried look on her face. "Yeah, what's going on, Antonio?" She stepped forward, wrapping an arm around Sylvie's shoulders, turning to look down at her.

"Her car's been vandalised, and there's a suspicious box on the front seat. I'll take her back to the station after, but Voight's coming now to check it out. Just stay with her. Don't let her out of your sight." Antonio backed away to the door and left, obviously waiting outside for Voight.

Will pulled Sylvie into a hug almost immediately. "Oh, man. You're okay, right?" He asked. Sylvie nodded into his chest, mumbling a quiet "Mmhmmm."

Erin's arm returned to her shoulders soon after, each of them staying silent for a few moments before Jay mentioned that they should head outside too. Jay and Will walked ahead of Erin and Sylvie, who still had their arms wrapped around one another. She didn't care if it was cold outside. She didn't want Antonio to be alone out there at a crime scene that she'd caused, even if he was a police officer.

The four of them walked down the street a little to Sylvie's car, stopping just before the glass began. "Thank God you're okay, Sylvie," Erin muttered, sending her a reassuring smile.

Voight and Antonio were standing by the front door of the car, examining the box and trying to decide on what to do. When they heard the four others appear behind them, they turned around.

Voight nodded to Antonio, who nodded back at him as he headed over the glass to Sylvie. "I'll take you back to the station now. Erin, Jay - you two good staying to help Voight?"

Erin nodded at him. "Yeah, we'll stay. Sylvie, stay safe, okay? I'll call you in the morning to check on you."

Sylvie nodded back at her and gave her a kind smile. "I'll be waiting!" She smiled, following after Antonio to his car, parked right near her now destroyed one.

* * *

The station was much warmer than the outside right now and Sylvie was glad to be sitting alone in the break room of the Intelligence Unit. It was nearing midnight and Sylvie was getting tired. She didn't know how she'd be able to deal with a 24 hour shift tomorrow.

The door to the break room opened and Kim Burgess walked in, two coffees in her hands. She sat one down in front of Sylvie. "Figured you'd need a bit of a drink. I'm on night patrol tonight with Tay, and the coffee in the downstairs break room isn't half bad."

Sylvie chuckled at her, taking a sip of the warm drink and thanking Kim. "You're really too kind, Kim."

Kim shrugged and grinned at her. "I was born that way, I suppose," she joked, flicking her ponytail over her shoulder in mock sass.

The two sat in silence for a few moments, both sipping their coffees. Yet Sylvie could see Kim getting impatient, and tried to hide the smile on her face at the fact she was almost bursting with what she wanted to say.

Finally, after a few more minutes of silence, Kim finally said what she'd been holding back on saying. "Okay, don't jump on me for this, but what's going on with you and Antonio?"

Sylvie frowned, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion. "Uh, nothing's going on between Antonio and I? What makes you think that?"

Kim rolled her eyes at her and took another sip of her coffee. "Okay, did you know this? Tonight, when you called him about the incident at Molly's, he wasn't even working. It's his night off, and he just sped straight to you when he heard you were in danger. From the comfort of his own _home._ "

"I'm sure he'd do that for anyone, Kim. It's not just specifically me. I was in trouble, and he's a police officer. It's understandable why he'd come running." Sylvie shrugged at her.

Though, something in the back of her mind hoped that there was that something more there. That it was specifically the fact that she was in danger that he left so quickly and got there so fast. She shook her head at the thought.

"You keep telling yourself that, Sylvie. But believe me, Antonio doesn't do that for just anyone. He'd do it for Gabby, and he'd do it for his kids. He'd probably do it for his ex-wife too. But you're in the top five. So, if you're not gonna admit there's something going on..."

"Okay, fine!" Sylvie exclaimed, almost spilling her coffee in her hands. Kim grinned at her, leaning forward on the table. "I might have a-a tiny crush on him. Like, a teeny tiny one!"

Kim's grin was bigger than Sylvie had ever seen in her life, and she almost laughed at it until she spoke again. "Your secret's safe with me, Syl."

* * *

Kim kept her company for at least another twenty minutes, by which it was already past midnight and Sylvie was getting even more tired, even though she had coffee.

A few minutes past 12:20am, Antonio walked into the break room and took a seat between Kim and Sylvie. "I've just been on the phone with Gabby, and we've both agreed that it's easier for you to stay at mine tonight. I know you're closer with Gabby, but she lives almost half an hour away from the station and I live less than ten minutes." Antonio explained.

Sylvie nodded at him, listening to his every word and trying to ignore Kim's eyes on her.

"I'll drop you off at Gabby's in the morning so you can get ready and you can go home with Gabby tomorrow night. It's just a temporary thing," he shrugged. "You don't mind?"

She shook her head, finishing off her coffee. "No, that's fine. It's late and even if I'm sleeping on a couch, as long as it's not too far away from here I'm fine. I trust you," she shrugged, standing up and moving to hug Kim.

"Get it, girl," Kim whispered into her ear as they hugged. Sylvie had to bite her tongue to not laugh. She pulled away from her and followed Antonio from the break room and out of the station to his car.

"I'll find you some clothes to wear tonight, but you'll be able to get ready at Gabby's tomorrow morning so you'll be fine," he spoke as he pulled away from the curb and began to drive.

Sylvie nodded. "Yeah, that's fine. Hey, um, thanks for offering to do this, by the way. I know it's probably not the way you want to spend your night, looking after me."

Antonio chuckled. "Believe me, Brett. You're capable of looking after yourself, and I really don't mind. Anything to keep you safe." He smiled.


	7. Chapter 7 - A Lead In The Case

**We're at Chapter 7. I know you guys are holding out for something to happen... just wait till the end of this chapter... ;)**

It had been a few days since Sylvie had stayed the night at Antonio's house. He'd refused to let her sleep on the couch and instead gave her the spare bedroom where his kids usually slept when they visited, even though she protested against it. After she'd woken up, he'd driven her to Gabby and Matt's place and she'd gotten ready for work. The day was as normal as any other.

Sylvie hadn't seen Kim since that night, but she was hoping that she'd kept her mouth shut about it all, having been a little embarrassed that she'd admitted to liking Antonio. She'd downplayed it herself, and she felt like Kim knew that too. The firehouse had been quiet lately, with only a few calls on their last shift. It was just before 4pm on a Thursday when something finally happened to get everyone out of the firehouse.

The call came through suddenly. "Truck 81, Ambulance 61, Squad 3. Structural fire, 3400 West 43rd Street."

Sylvie jumped into action, hurrying to the ambo, Gabby running behind her. It was her turn to drive this shift and she pulled the front door open quickly, jumping inside and pulling her seatbelt on before starting up the ambo and following Truck and Squad as they pulled out of the firehouse before her.

They got there within ten minutes due to their quick driving and reaction, Gabby and Sylvie immediately grabbing the gurney and pulling it out as Boden assessed the situation and let Truck make their way inside to see if anyone was inside. The smoke wasn't bad yet and it was still safe for them to head in.

Less than five minutes later, the fire was almost out and Casey came running out toward Gabby, looking worried. "Call your brother. We've found something he's going to want to see." Sylvie didn't miss his eyes shifting to her for a moment before he disappeared back inside to work on getting the fire out. Luckily, it had only been a small one inside, yet Severide had mentioned something about seeing a body, but it was too far gone to save.

Gabby frowned, yet grabbed her phone from her pocket and called Antonio, wondering what had been found inside that was so important.

* * *

Antonio, Erin, Jay, Voight, Atwater, Olinksy and Ruzek had arrived twenty minutes after Gabby had called. They'd packed up the ambulance again, but none of them had left. They still had to overhaul and the police had to see what they'd found inside.

Gabby sat with Sylvie on the back of the ambo, both of them wanting to know what was going on. Neither of them had spoken to each other since Casey had come out with the news and neither of them really wanted to say anything, rather staying quiet than talking over something they both knew nothing about.

Ruzek and Atwater walked out of the warehouse ten minutes later, making their way over to Gabby and Sylvie. "Hey, you two okay?" Atwater asked as Gabby and Sylvie stood up.

"Yeah, we're fine. What's going on? Can we go in and see whatever they're talking about or not?" Gabby sighed, obviously annoyed at being kept back from something so important.

"That's why we're here. Follow us, it's a little way in but the fire's out now. You two will definitely want to see this," Ruzek nodded, walking with them toward the warehouse. "This place has been out of service for years, which explains what we found. Nobody ever comes here anymore, but we're lucky we got the call."

Sylvie followed Gabby and Ruzek into the warehouse, Atwater following after her. It was still hazy inside, but she didn't mind. It had to be important, so she'd do whatever she could to see it. They walked further into the warehouse and into a back room where Antonio, Erin, Jay, Voight and Olinksy were stood with Casey, Severide and Boden. Ruzek and Atwater joined the others, letting Gabby and Sylvie move forward to see what it was.

On the wall in front of them was a number of pictures and newspaper clippings about the firehouses, hospitals and police departments of Chicago, particularly House 51, Chicago Med and District 21. Sylvie stepped forward, reading through a couple of them. She couldn't spot her name or anything about her particularly anywhere, but it worried her anyway.

She turned around to face the officers. "What is all this?"

Voight stepped forward. "This is our lead to everything that's happening with you. We found a few files in the drawers that could lead us to the real name and details of the man who we believe is threatening you. If we're right, he's already in the system for sexual assault. This could have been his hideout - he knows that 51, District 21 and Med work closely together. It makes sense."

Sylvie nodded, turning back to look at the wall. She felt cold in here, and she didn't like it at all. This whole warehouse reminded her of when she and Mills were kidnapped to safe a life a few years ago, and she didn't want to revisit that moment. "Uh, I'm just going to head outside now."

She pushed past Voight, Erin and Jay, making her way out of the warehouse and back outside where she found her seat back on the ambo. She took a deep breath to try and calm herself down - this was good news. If they could find this guy, they could stop him threatening Sylvie, they could stop everything. But she was still anxious about it all.

"Hey, you alright?" Gabby asked beside her, leaning against the side of the ambulance and looking at Sylvie with a worried look on her face. "You got out of there pretty quick."

Sylvie nodded at her, putting a smile on her face and turning to face her. "Yeah, just didn't like it in there. Reminded me of times I'd rather not remember," she chuckled, shaking her head.

Gabby stepped forward and rubbed her shoulder. "Hey, this is good, okay? They've got a lead now. It won't be long till you'll be able to go home and not have to deal with Matt and Louie anymore," she laughed.

"Ah, Matt and Louie are no big deal. It's really you that ticks me off..." she joked. Gabby grinned at her, shaking her head.

"Watch yourself, Brett," she smirked. "I'm gonna go talk to Matt for a second, but I'll be back. Don't leave without me."

* * *

The next night, Gabby was serving at Molly's for the night. Herrmann and Otis were working alongside her, and the bar was pretty busy. It was just past 9:30pm. Matt was at home looking after Louie, and Sylvie had tagged along, meeting up with Stella and talking to her at the other end of the bar.

Antonio sat in front of Gabby, sipping his beer and occasionally talking to Gabby between serving people.

"How's Brett doing?" Antonio asked, taking another drink of his beer and looking up at Gabby.

She raised her eyebrows at him. "Brett's doing fine. She's a little on edge with all this. But when it's over she'll be fine. She's strong, you know? She can deal with all this easily." Gabby shrugged at him.

Antonio nodded back. "Yeah, she's strong, I know that. Thanks for going after her yesterday, by the way, when she left the warehouse. I didn't want her to be alone going through there."

Gabby smirked at him from across the bar as she poured a drink for a lady, not replying to him until the lady had her drink. She walked back over to him and leant down on the bench in front of him. "Spill the beans, Tonio. What's going on with you and Brett?"

He frowned at her and shook his head. "Nothing's going on between Brett and I, Gabby. I'm just looking out for her."

"Oh, that's bullshit and you and I both know it. When was the last serious relationship you had? Oh, yeah, Laura. Now, I know you loved Laura, but that's all over now. You need to get yourself out there, Tonio. You're getting old," she winked. He glared back at her. "Listen to me. Sylvie's great, she's had a fiancé in the past who left her, she's dated Cruz. She deserves this just as much as you do. And you've got my blessing."

"I don't like her that way, Gabby," Antonio shook his head, taking a swig of his beer. "I'm just being friendly with her because she's in trouble right now."

Gabby rolled her eyes at him. "The more you keep denying this, the further away she gets. If you don't get the guts now, I'll have to do it for you. And that'd be embarrassing for you."

She smiled at him knowingly before walking away to serve someone further down the bar. Antonio looked around, knowing that Sylvie was in here somewhere. She'd been sitting with Stella earlier, and he easily spotted her, sitting at the tables on the side with Severide, both intently discussing something.

Antonio stood up, beer in hand, and wandered up to the other end of the bar, ignoring Gabby's eyes on him as he did so. He spotted Brett sitting alone at the bar, staring at the wood of the bench, obviously deep in thought.

He stopped for a moment, thinking of what he was about to do. But Gabby was right - he'd not been serious with anyone since Laura, and he was surely lying to himself if he said that there wasn't some sort of connection between himself and Sylvie. Antonio shook his head and sighed before stepping toward Sylvie, taking the spare seat beside her.

"Oh, hi, Antonio," she smiled, nodding her head at him.

"You doing okay after yesterday?" He asked, smiling back.

She nodded at him. "Yeah, it was just a little stressful, but I'm good. Thanks for asking though. It's good to know I've got someone like you looking out for me."

Antonio smiled at her, nodding. "Uh, c-can I buy you a drink?"

A smile suddenly appeared on her face before she looked down to the drink on the bar in front of her and back up at Antonio. "Uhhh," she smiled, awkwardly.

Antonio mentally slapped himself before letting out a small laugh. "Rain check on that, then?"

Sylvie smiled at him before nodding. "Yeah, definitely."


	8. Chapter 8 - When Are You Free?

**Isn't this Chapter cute? It's one of my favourites I think. Boden looking after Brett, Antonio being cute with kids, Gabby and Sylvie having a heart-to-heart. Enjoy it!**

"Brett, could you step into my office for a second?" Boden asked, standing in the door of her office. Sylvie nodded, heading toward him. She was getting a lift back to Gabby and Matt's from them, but she knew they'd wait for her.

"What's going on, Chief?" She asked, closing the door behind her and taking a seat in front of his desk. She hadn't heard any news since the fire at the warehouse three days ago. "Is there news on the threat?"

Boden shook his head, sitting back down behind his desk. "No, I just wanted to check on how you're dealing with all of this. I know you're staying with Dawson and Casey for the time being, but it's my job to make sure you're feeling safe, especially while working."

Sylvie nodded enthusiastically. "I feel perfectly safe on the job, Chief. I'm surrounded by so many people who I know have my back in any situation. Everything's going really well. There hasn't been a moment where I've felt unsafe when I'm with Gabby and Matt or at work."

"I'm glad to hear that, Brett," Boden smiled, nodding at her. "You're free to go. Enjoy your day off."

She smiled back at him and stood, grabbing her bag off the floor beside her. "Absolutely. You too, Chief. Thank you for checking up on me."

* * *

Sylvie woke up from her nap just after 12:00pm. They'd gotten back to Matt and Gabby's just after 8am and Sylvie was glad to be able to have a sleep after such a busy few days and a very, very long shift.

She could hear noises outside her room and sighed, pulling herself from the comfort of her bed and fixing her hair and getting rid of the sleep in her eyes in the mirror beside her bed. She'd shoved on a pair of comfy pyjama pants - blue and covered in white fluffy sheep - and an old shirt before heading to bed, but she looked presentable enough.

As soon as she stepped out of her room, she wished she'd changed out of her pyjamas and into a pair of jeans or something.

In the living room, Gabby and Matt sat together, both eating some type of sandwiches. Across from them sat Antonio, with Louie sat on his knee. Sylvie internally groaned, but since her room was in perfect view of the living room, there was no turning back now.

She sighed and stepped forward, smiling at Gabby who'd turned around to see her. "Oh, afternoon, Sylvie. Sleep well?" Gabby asked.

Sylvie nodded at her, walking into the kitchen. "Yeah, it was good. Definitely well needed." She replied, grabbing the loaf of bread from the counter and working on making her own salad sandwich. She worked in the kitchen, occasionally listening to whatever Gabby, Matt and Antonio were talking about.

She'd been thinking for the whole time since her last Molly's visit about Antonio and how he'd asked if he could buy her a drink. That night, she'd fallen asleep with the biggest grin on her face, and it had barely left now. The fact that he was at her place now made her grin even more as she buttered the bread.

On occasion, she'd glance up at him. Louie was sitting on his knee, and she had to admit that the sight of the two of them were adorable. She knew he had kids, but they were older now, and Louie was still very young.

"Anyway, I've got some good news," Antonio finally spoke, looking up at Sylvie and back to Gabby and Matt. "We've been working hard at the station, and we've finally got a decent lead on the case. The files at that warehouse have been incredibly helpful in trying to figure this all out. We've already got the details about the man and woman you two saved from the fire, but we're working on details for a third accomplice. We've got the second in custody since yesterday."

Gabby grinned, "Damn,Tonio! That's so great. I'm so happy to hear that."

Sylvie nodded back, slicing her sandwich in half. "I agree. It's really good you guys have been working so hard on this case and I really appreciate everything you've been doing." She moved to sit on the couch beside Antonio, sending him a quick smile before taking a bite of her sandwich.

"We wouldn't do it any other way. You two are family to all of us at the station, whether related by blood or not. We'd do anything to keep the two of you safe," he nodded. "But the patrol cars will still stay on watch until we can guarantee that any threat has disappeared. We're not sure how many accomplices there are, but as soon as we know, you'll know too. You two still have to stay safe, especially you, Sylvie. We don't want a repeat of what happened with your car."

Sylvie agreed with him, taking another bite of her sandwich. The last meal she'd had was a packet of original chips at 1am while trying to calm herself down from one of their calls where a mother and father almost died. It was comfort food, she told herself. It was okay to eat stuff like that at 1am sometimes.

She looked over to Antonio again who was still talking to Matt and Gabby, catching Louie's eye she sent him a smile, which he slightly returned. As soon as she'd finished her sandwich and sat the plate down on the coffee table, Louie reached his arms out toward her, and she gratefully took him from Antonio's arms.

"You're ditching me, little man? For Sylvie? Aw, come on," he chuckled, shaking his head at Louie who had settled happily into Sylvie.

He sent a grin toward her, his eyes shining at her and making her stomach do backflips as she smiled back at him. In that moment, Antonio realised he'd never really seen anyone as beautiful as Sylvie looked in that moment.

* * *

Antonio had been at the house for just over two hours now, talking to his sister and Matt and enjoying time with Louie, and more recently, Sylvie. He had to admit that she looked adorable, half asleep as she appeared in the living room. But the time to get back to work came much too soon and Sylvie offered to walk him to the door. She handed Louie back over to Gabby after she'd given Antonio a hug and led him to the door.

He stood in front of her, leaning against the door. "So, about that drink..." he began, not able to keep the smile off of his face at the thought. "When are you free?"

Sylvie thought for a moment. "Well, it's Sunday now. My next night off will be Tuesday. Does that work for you?"

Antonio nodded at her. "Tuesday, 9 o'clock at Mollys then?" He asked.

"That sounds perfect." She replied, feeling the butterflies in her stomach.

Antonio grinned at her before unlocking the door behind him and stepping out. Sylvie took the door in her hand and watched as Antonio walked outside. "Oh, by the way, Sylvie?" He called. She nodded at him, urging him to continue. "Cute pyjamas."

* * *

Later that night Gabby and Sylvie sat with Louie on the couch. It was dark outside now, and Matt had gone to meet Severide at Molly's. Louie was fast asleep in Dawson's lap as she stretched out on the couch. They both had coffees sat on the coffee table and had recently indulged in some really delicious takeaway Pizza from a shop just down the road.

"Sylvie, can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, go for it." Sylvie nodded, looking over at her.

"Do you like my brother?"

Sylvie cringed, not wanting to be interrogated by her best friend and possible romantic interests sister. "Um, I do, yeah. Why?"

Gabby turned to her and grinned. "You do?"

She nodded at her again.

"If you two get serious, don't break his heart," Gabby frowned. "He's already had that before with his ex-wife, and it was messy and tough. He doesn't deserve that from anyone. I know your past, with your ex-fiancé and everything. But Antonio's a good guy. He deserves everything good in life. And if he's turning to you to give that to him, I trust him. I know you, Brett."

"I'm not going to break his heart, Gabby," Sylvie sighed. "I've been in a serious relationship like that too. And even if I don't have kids, I can handle them. If I wasn't planning to be all in with Antonio, I wouldn't be in it at all. I'm not that kind of girl."

Gabby nodded at her. "I know you're not Sylvie, don't worry. I just wanted you to know what my thoughts are on this situation. But do note, I am completely okay with you two becoming a thing around here. You'd be good for each other."

Sylvie sent Gabby a kind grin. "You really think so?"

"Oh, hell yeah. You're the sweetest girl I know, Brett. And while Antonio's a toughie on the outside, he's a real sweetheart on the inside," she agreed, not taking her eyes off of Sylvie's. "But can I request one thing, real quick?"

Sylvie nodded, confused.

"If you're still living here when you first have sex, please don't be too loud."

With a groan of embarrassment, Sylvie threw the pillow she'd been holding over her face, sinking into the couch. She didn't miss Gabby's soft laughter, though, and knew that if Louie wasn't asleep on her, she'd definitely be laughing much, much louder.

 **A/N: Friendly reminder, that while this chapter is over, next Chapter you get the Antonio/Sylvie drinks date...**


	9. Chapter 9 - Save The Girl

**Thanks so much for 40+ reviews! How crazy. I hope you all enjoy Chapter 9. It's one of my favourites in terms of Brettonio development and Sylvie development. This is also my longest chapter, so enjoy!**

The rest of Sunday and the entirety of her shift on Monday seemed to drag out for Sylvie, and she wished that it'd hurry up. The looming prospect of her date with Antonio on Tuesday had her constantly smiling, and had Gabby constantly teasing her about it too. Even if the others had realised something was up during shift, they hadn't asked her about it and she was glad.

Just before their shift was set to end, the alarm went off once more. "Truck 81, Ambulance 61, Squad 3, 3 car pile-up, 738 North Michigan Avenue."

Sylvie pulled herself from the bed where she'd been napping and ran out to the ambo, pulling open the passenger door and climbing in, Gabby joining her soon after. They had both been sleeping when the alarm went off and Gabby lazily rubbed her eyes as she pulled her seatbelt on and began to drive.

They reached the scene only minutes later, both of them jumping out of the ambo and pulling out the gurney. It was only beginning to get light outside as it was just before 7am and the only light they were given was from the streetlights either side of them. Sylvie waited beside the gurney as the firefighters worked on sussing out the situation and trying to figure out what was going on and how to help.

As they began to move the car with the least amount of damage, Severide stepped away. "Brett, come here!" Without a glance at Dawson, Brett moved toward him quickly, stopping in front of him and nodding, confused.

"You're smaller than Dawson," he stated, Sylvie nodded. "There's a little girl in the back of that car, just there. She's about eight. Both her parents in the front are DOA, but we think she might be injured. When we stabilise the car on top, can you climb in through the window and make sure she's okay? We don't want to have her moved just incase she's really badly injured. Once the car on top is stabilised, you'll be safe."

Sylvie nodded at him, stepping back over to Gabby and waiting for Severide to call her. They'd pulled off one of the three cars, with Sylvie and Gabby tending to the one driver who had only gotten minor injuries. They were working on stabilising the car on top.

A few more ambulances had arrived since they'd gotten to the scene and one had happily taken the patient who wasn't badly hurt back to Med to get a check up so that Gabby and Sylvie could deal with the little girl and the other could deal with the people in the other car.

It didn't take too long for Squad to stabilise the car and Sylvie walked over to them as Severide smashed in the window of the car. The entire front of the car was crushed in due to the car on top, and the girl was pinned in the back seat, blood on her forehead. After they cleared the window from any remaining glass, Severide helped push Sylvie through the window of the car. "Mind the glass," he muttered.

She was glad she was wearing gloves, and her pants were decent enough to stop the glass from breaking through, she knelt on the back seat next to the girl, bent over so as to not hit her head on the roof. She put her fingers to the girls neck to feel for a pulse and let out a breath at realising that she had one.

"Hey, sweetie," Sylvie greeted, the girl looked at her, confused. "My name's Sylvie, okay? I'm a paramedic, and I'm going to need to ask you if you're hurt anywhere. Does anywhere hurt?"

The little girl hummed. "My head hurts," she whispered, reaching up a hand to touch the blood on her head. Sylvie nodded.

"Okay, don't move honey, we're gonna get you out of here. I'm just going to check you over and we'll be working on getting you out of here." Sylvie assured her, moving forward a little to check and see if she was hurt elsewhere.

Outside the car, one of the beams holding the second car off the top of the car Sylvie was in slipped slightly. "Grab that beam!" Severide yelled quickly, as the left wheel side of the car started to slip.

Sylvie ducked, pushing herself down onto the seat fully as she felt the wheel push down on the top of the car above her. The gloves on her hands didn't help as she felt some of the glass cut through them, slicing some of the skin on her hands open.

"Severide!" Sylvie yelled from inside, her hand now gripping the little girls.

"Stay still! We're getting it back up!" Severide yelled back as he and the rest of the Squad guys worked on pushing the car back up onto the beams. As soon as they did, Severide spoke again. "You two okay?"

Sylvie nodded, pushing herself up again. "Head injury, possible internal bleeding. You need to get us out of here. I'll unbuckle her seatbelt and get her out through the window. Get Gabby over here."

Severide yelled for Gabby and she came running with the gurney, pausing outside the window as Sylvie leant over the girl and unbuckled her seatbelt. "You okay, sweetie?" She asked.

"I'm okay, my head hurts." She murmured. Sylvie nodded.

"I know honey, but we're gonna get you out of here, okay?"

She shuffled back on the seat, grabbing the girl and moving her carefully to the open window of the car. Severide leaned in, pushing the backboard underneath her with the help of Sylvie, who was now sat on the ground between the drivers seat and the back seat, thankful that the driver had the front seat forward when they'd been driving so that she could easily fit.

They strapped her in and pulled her out of the window, placing her on the gurney. Sylvie sighed, pushing herself back up onto the back seat of the car.

"Okay, we've got to get you out. That beam could go again any second," Severide spoke, helping pull her out of the car. She stood on the road again, wincing at the pain in her hands as she pulled off the surgical gloves. "Shit, you okay?"

Sylvie nodded at him. "Yeah, it's nothing. Just a few cuts." She shrugged, sending him a quick smile before hurrying off to the ambo where Gabby was loading the girl with the help of Boden.

"Good work back there, Brett," Boden spoke as he closed the doors behind her as she climbed into the back of the ambo, Gabby getting into the drivers seat.

Brett ignored the pain in her hands, pulling on another pair of gloves as Gabby pulled away from the scene.

* * *

"You're lucky you didn't get hurt any worse," Halstead sighed, looking at her hands. Her palms were sore with a few cuts from the glass, but it was nothing too serious. Will sterilised the cuts and bandaged them soon after.

"I'm fine," she shrugged. "It's just my hands, really. That little girl. She's got it so much worse." Brett frowned, thinking of the girl with the injured head. The girl who didn't have parents any longer. She'd been at Med for a while now, having only left the scene of the pile-up at 8:30am, just over and hour and a half since they'd gotten there. Now, it was close to 11:00am and Sylvie just wanted to get home and sleep for a while, being tired after the long shift.

Gabby and Matt had headed out to grab some lunch just before 11 and had promised to return at 12 to pick Sylvie up. So, she still had a while to wait.

"Just don't do anything too bad with your hands for the next 24 hours. The cuts should start to heal by then. You'll be able to work just fine, as long as you're not overworking yourself or your hands." Will spoke, smiling at her as she pulled herself up off the bed in the room he'd taken her to to fix her up.

"Thank you, Will. Really," Sylvie smiled, brushing a stray hair out of her face. The braid it had been in all night was coming out now, especially due to the stress of the last call.

"Hey, uh, Will?" She called as he began to walk out of the room. He turned back around and raised his eyebrows at her. "That little girl? How is she?"

She asked the dreaded question, but now that the girl had lost her parents and had a traumatic head injury, she needed to know. Brett wasn't the type to get too attached to patients, but this girl... she needs to know.

The look on Will's face told her everything.

He stepped forward again toward her and sighed, shaking his head. "She didn't make it, Brett. The injury was worse than we thought and we weren't able to save her without any serious repercussions. I'm sorry."

* * *

Molly's was busy late at night, and even though Sylvie, hours ago, had been so excited for her date, the stress of the earlier day had gotten to her more than she'd like to admit. She'd worn a pair of jeans and a somewhat fancy shirt to meet Antonio, but couldn't do anything about her bandaged and sore hands and hoped he wouldn't mind.

Usually, Sylvie was the person to always be on time, or even early, but today, it was almost 9:20pm by the time Gabby dropped her off outside of Molly's. She hurried inside and spotted Antonio almost immediately, in a booth toward the back of the bar. She winced at the fact he looked disappointed and hurried towards him, sliding into the seat across from him.

He looked up at her suddenly and smiled. "Hey, Sylvie."

Sylvie smiled back at him. "Hey," she muttered. "Sorry I'm so late. Today has been really stressful and I'm really exhausted right now. So, I'm sorry if I'm an awful person to be with tonight."

Antonio shook his head. "No, it's fine. Don't sweat it. I know what it means to be exhausted by work. What can I get you to drink?" He asked her.

"Uh, beer will be fine for now, just for starters." She nodded, and he stood up and walked to the bar to grab her a beer.

He returned only a minute later, taking a seat beside her instead of across from her and giving her the beer, already opened for her.

"What happened to your hands?" He asked, looking worried.

She glanced down to them. "Oh, just work," she shrugged. "But I'm sure you don't want to hear about that."

Antonio shook his head and frowned at her. "No, tell me. I don't want to have secrets between us so early. Was it something to do with the threat?" He asked, tensing up.

Sylvie shook her head immediately. "No, no! Nothing to do with that," she reassured him. "There was a pile-up early this morning, I had to crawl into a car to check on a little girl and my hands got cut in the process. I almost got crushed by another car on top of us and the girl didn't make it in the end anyway. That's why I was so late, I suppose."

"Brett," he sighed, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "You could have called this off, you know? If you just wanted to sleep or stay at home. We could always have rescheduled."

She shook her head. "No, I wanted to come. I did, honestly. If I didn't, I wouldn't be here. I was looking forward to this throughout my entire shift today. Believe me. Gabby wouldn't stop teasing me about it."

Antonio grinned, shaking his head in amusement. "'Course she didn't," he chuckled. "But if you do want to go home at any time, let me know. I'll drive you back."

"I know, but please, don't let my day ruin this. Tell me about yourself," she suggested.

He nodded at her and smiled. "Well, I suppose you know the bare minimum, right? I have an ex-wife, two beautiful kids. A tough ass job, but I love it. And I wouldn't have it any other way. Obviously, I'd like more in my life after Laura, and I suppose that's where you come in." He chuckled, taking a swig of his own beer.

Sylvie chose to ignore his cheeks reddening as he spoke about her.

* * *

"Thank you, Antonio, really, tonight was great." Sylvie smiled, walking with Antonio to the front door of Matt and Gabby's place. She pulled the key out of her bag and waited at the door for him to speak.

"No, absolutely. I had a great night, you're good company. I'm glad I could take your mind off of everything that went on at work," Antonio nodded. "Do you want to do this again sometime?"

Sylvie grinned at him and nodded. "Without a doubt," she smiled, her eyes shifting to the ground so he couldn't see her blushing cheeks. She really had one of the greatest nights tonight, and even after such a stressful day, Antonio didn't seem to mind spending time with her when she was so tired and so stressed. He knew just as much as she did that she needed some time to take her mind off of the threat and off of the day. And he was happy to do so.

"I'll see you around, Sylvie," Antonio smiled. He leant in and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek before pulling back and heading back to his car.

Sylvie couldn't keep the smile off of her face as she unlocked the front door and shut it behind her, sleepily making her way to her bedroom. It had been a while since she'd had a really successful date, but she had a good feeling about Antonio. A really, really good feeling.

 **There's something exciting in the next chapter... see if you can guess it. ;)**


	10. Chapter 10 - It Happens Sometimes

**Happy 10 Chapters!**

 **Prepare yourself for this chapter. It's an overload of cute Sylvie/Antonio and Sylvie and Louie. Also, when you get to that last page break down the bottom, it's really cute to play the song 'Can't Help Falling in Love' by Hearts & Colors. I actually wrote that whole last section listening to it, and it makes it 10000 times cuter, I swear... enjoy!**

* * *

Sylvie woke up just after midday on Thursday after another one of the longest and most tiring shifts of her life. She was physically and mentally drained, especially after the incident with the young girl and the car pile-up a few days ago. Of course, her date with Antonio had made her evening much better, yet she couldn't seem to keep her mind off the fact that she hadn't been able to save that little girl.

Gabby was always reminding her that she was in a better place now - she didn't have to grow up without her parents. And even if that was helpful and made a bit of a difference in Sylvie's mind, it didn't stop the thoughts completely. Yet, she wished they would all disappear.

She buried her head into her pillow and groaned before throwing off the sheets and pulling on a pair of jeans and a plaid shirt she'd thrown on the dressing table near her bed. After freshening up, she left her bedroom and headed into the living room. Matt sat on one of the couches, pulling on a pair of shoes. He smiled at her when he noticed her.

"Could I ask you a favour, Sylvie?" He asked, finishing the laces and standing up, making his way over to her. She nodded in response, urging him to continue. "I'm taking Gabby out this afternoon on a bit of date - we haven't had time to do this in a while. I was just wondering if you could watch Louie for a while. We can always call Bonnie if you don't want to-"

"No, of course, Matt," Sylvie shook her head. "I'm happy to look after Louie. Don't worry. You and Gabby deserve to have a good afternoon out. And Louie's great, I'm sure he won't mind spending the afternoon with me. Go out and have fun." She grinned at him.

Matt chuckled in response and nodded. "You're a lifesaver, Brett, you really are." He grabbed the coat off the side of the couch and pulled it on, his eyes moving to Dawson as she walked out of their room, dressed in a red dress and heels. They were obviously doing something fancy. "Hey, Gabby, good news - Sylvie's agreed to look after Louie."

"Oh, Brett, you're too kind," Gabby smiled, pulling her into a hug. "You'll be alright here by yourself, yeah? The patrol car is still out front and nothing has happened in a while."

Sylvie nodded at her. "I'll be fine. Go and have fun, go on. I'm fine here with Louie, we'll find something to do. I'll see you in a couple of hours. You two look great, don't let it go to waste!"

* * *

"Okay, Louie, how are we spending our afternoon, huh?" Sylvie asked, picking him up and resting him on her hip as she walked into the living room. "Do you want to do some colouring? Watch a movie? How about I bake some cookies and we can frost them together? So when Matt and Gabby come home they can eat them?"

Louie nodded at the last option and Sylvie grinned. "Okay, let me put on a movie for you to watch and I'll bake some cookies. Does that sound good?"

"Good," Louie replied softly, nodding as Sylvie sat him on the couch, placing a bunch of pillows around him to get him comfortable. She put in the DVD for Toy Story and waited until it started to play before she retreated into the kitchen and started preparing the ingredients for the cookies.

Her mom had taught her how to make these cookies when she was a teenager. They were her absolute favourite - sugar cookies - and even though they were plain, they still tasted divine. And when you added her special Buttercream frosting, it made them ten times better. In her opinion anyway.

After making the mixture and using the cookie cutter to make decent shaped cookies, she placed them in the oven, walking over to the couch and sitting down beside Louie, wrapping an arm around him.

"Do you like Toy Story, Louie?" She asked him. He nodded slightly, his eyes still glued to the tv. She hadn't ever really sat down and watched Toy Story before, but it didn't seem too bad. She'd never been into those sort of animated movies as a child. Even if now she wished she had seen more films as a kid, she was, at least, watching them now.

Half an hour later, the cookies were perfectly cooked and Sylvie left Louie again to watch Toy Story as she started on the Buttercream icing. She couldn't help eating some of it as she made it and mixed a few different colours into the icing so they could make them prettier for Gabby and Matt.

"Okay, Louie, let's frost these, shall we?" She grinned, placing him in the chair beside her on the bench and sitting a cookie in front of them. "What colour should we do first? Blue or green?"

"Green," Louie nodded, pointing to the bowl of green frosting. Sylvie nodded and grabbed it, dipping the frosting knife into the mixture and getting a decent amount on it. With a little help from Louie, they got to icing the first cookie, and while it wasn't the nicest looking frosted cookie, Sylvie knew Gabby and Matt would enjoy it either way.

* * *

Ten cookies in, Sylvie dipped the clean frosting knife into the blue frosting, accidentally flicking some of it into her face as she did so. Louie let out a laugh beside her and she turned to him, grinning. "What are you laughing at, Mr?"

She chuckled, feeling the frosting on her face and shaking her head in amusement. Just as she was about to stand to wipe it from her face, the doorbell rang. Grabbing the frosting knife from the bench so it wouldn't be alone with Louie, she hurried to the front door, pulling it open.

On the other side of the door stood Antonio, wearing his signature leather jacket. He chuckled at the look of Sylvie - covered in blue frosting and holding a frosting knife in her hand.

"Bit of a mess in here, hey?" He asked, stepping inside as Sylvie blushed with embarrassment.

"We're icing cookies, and I flicked some on myself by accident," she laughed, shaking her and head making her way back to the bench where Louie sat, watching them both intently.

"Hey, little man!" Antonio grinned, picking Louie up from the chair and walking him down to the couch, pressing play again on Toy Story and letting him continue to watch the movie. He crossed back over to Sylvie, grabbing a paper towel from the bench and gripping her face in his hand, moving to wipe the blue frosting from her face.

"This is so embarrassing," Sylvie laughed as he threw the paper towel in the trash, moving to sit beside Sylvie as she finished icing the last cookie and began cleaning up the workspace. "I mean, you probably came here to see Gabby or something, and what do you get? Sylvie Brett with a face full of frosting."

Antonio chuckled and shook his head in amusement. "I came to talk to you _and_ Gabby, actually. We've got a lead, but I'll talk you through it in a second when we clean all this up," he admitted. "And I didn't mind, actually. It's the fact that you flicked it into your own face that's the more embarrassing part."

Sylvie laughed, putting the last of the dirty equipment into the dishwasher and following Antonio to the dining table, sitting down across from him and waiting for him to talk.

"We got a DNA sample from the scene where you car was destroyed at Molly's, and that means we've got a name now. Kyle Martin. He's in our system for fraud and sexual assault, just like our friend from the fire a month ago. We've done a little digging and found out that Kyle Martin is the brother of the wife you got out of the wife back then, and that they're all tied together. Kyle's stepped forward and admitted that he's part of the trouble. He's said that there's a possible third accomplice, but he doesn't know who it is for sure. And the others won't talk," Antonio spoke, watching her intently.

"At least you've got a good lead, though, right? If you didn't, that would be bad. Considering everything that's been going on with the threat and my car and everything. Even if there is a third guy, I'm sure you guys are going to get him at some point soon. I'm sick of being so worried about all of this, y'know?"

Antonio nodded at her, grabbing her hand across the table. "There's almost nothing to worry about anymore. We've got two of the three men in custody. Obviously, we'll keep the patrols around, but apart from that, you're practically safe."

* * *

It was later at night now, nearing 8pm. Gabby and Matt weren't home yet, and just after 6 Gabby had sent Sylvie a text telling her they'd be home just before 10pm, and that Louie should be in bed by 8. Antonio had stayed, not wanting to leave Sylvie alone at night, and the two had contemplated ordering Chinese.

Sylvie had, instead, cooked him some of her famous chicken stir fry that she'd yet to cook for the firehouse, yet, as they sat at the dinner table, he really enjoyed it. When 7:45pm hit, Sylvie picked a sleepy Louie up from the couch, carrying him back into Gabby and Matt's room and placing him down onto his bed.

"I'll see you in the morning, okay, honey? Did you have a good day?"

He nodded softly, crawling up onto the bed and hugging his toy close to his chest. Sylvie smiled at him, rubbing his head a little before closing the door behind her and leaving the room.

Antonio was sat on the couches, a beer in his hand as Sylvie sat back down beside him. "I'm not sure that was the way you really expected to spend your day, right?" She asked him, kicking her feet up on the coffee table.

He shrugged. "I mean, no, not really. But I had a good day none-the-less. You and Louie are good company. And those cookies were great for dessert."

She grinned at him. "Severide thinks I'm a secret chef, and now you do! What more could I ask for in life?"

"Valid question, Brett, really," Antonio chuckled, taking a drink of his beer and turning toward her, raising an eyebrow at her. "The other night. At Molly's. I talked a lot about myself. But we never really spoke about you. So, tell me about yourself, Brett."

"What do you want to know?"

Antonio thought for a moment before shrugging. "Tell me everything. I mean, this may not be the most ideal second date, but I want to know more about you, Sylvie. Let me into that head of yours."

Sylvie chuckled, but nodded. "Well, you know about my exes, right? Harrison. I was engaged to him back ages ago. But that's all over now. Has been for a while. He, uh, he didn't really treat me right."

"Did he hurt you?"

"No, no! It's not like that, not at all. He just didn't trust me. He didn't think I'd be able to survive in Chicago. Tried to guilt me into coming back home with him. I made a lot of stupid decisions because of him. But that's all over now. And you know about Cruz, I suppose. That... fling, of sorts. He's still a great friend of mine, though."

Antonio nodded, at her, reaching over and holding her hand in his as she spoke, setting the beer on the table.

"Uh, well, as for me as a person... I love my job. More than anything. I'd do anything for my job, really. It's something that... it defines me, you know? Without my job I wouldn't be Sylvie Brett. I'd just be incredibly boring. I can't even imagine my life without saving lives and helping pe-" She paused, the girl from Tuesday morning coming to mind. Sylvie cringed and looked down.

Antonio frowned, reaching over to her with his free hand and holding her chin gently. "Hey, hey, it's okay," he sighed. "I know what happened on Tuesday. I know. But it's okay. There's nothing you could have done. That happens sometimes. And it's okay, Sylvie."

She nodded back at him, letting her eyes move up to his and letting a small smile fall onto her face. "Yeah, I know that. It's just difficult to get it all out of my mind sometimes, I suppose. Don't mind me, though. I get attached to patients and people I shouldn't."

He chuckled and shook his head, shuffling closer to her. "Tell me something, Sylvie. Tell me something completely honest and be truthful. Tell me something that almost no one else knows about you. Not about work. Not about your exes. Something solely about you."

Sylvie nodded, thinking for a few moments before looking back up at Antonio, trying to make herself feel more confident about this than she actually was. "Spending time with you lately has made me incredibly, incredibly happy. And I know that's really cheesy - like gouda cheesy - but still. I can't seem to stop smiling around you. And that's something different than anything I've felt before..." She hesitated. "And you're now the only person who knows that. Or who has heard me admit it, anyway."

Antonio looked at her for a few more moments, taking in her beauty and smiling before shaking his head and shuffling just a little closer to her. "Sylvie," he whispered, looking up at her. "Can I kiss you right now?"

He watched her as she slowly nodded, and, unable to keep the cheesy grin off of his face, leaned in and pressed his lips to hers, his hand gently holding her face, and his other still holding her hand.

She kissed back almost immediately, trying to ignore the explosions of butterflies she was feeling in her stomach as he kissed her.

In that moment, she was grinning internally more than she thought she'd ever smiled in her life.

 **A/N: That was a bit cute, wasn't it? Leave your thoughts in the reviews!**


	11. Chapter 11 - Blueberry Pancakes

**A/N: This is sort of a filler chapter, but it's cute either way so I hope you enjoy it! There's some drama coming up in the next few chapters, so prepare yourself! Thanks for loving this story!**

* * *

"Okay, I'm either going crazy now or you haven't stopped smiling for the entire shift. So what's going on, Brett?" Severide asked, leaning against the door of his office as she sat down on her bed.

Sylvie looked up at him and grinned, shaking her head. "I'm just happy, Severide. What's so wrong with being happy? Can't a girl smile every once in a while?"

He rolled his eyes at her and moved to sit on the end of her bed. "I know you're a naturally happy person, Brett, but this is next level. If you smile any more, your face is gonna split in half, I'm calling it now."

"Excuse me!" Sylvie exclaimed, somewhat offended. "I'm not going to tell you what's going on because you don't really need to know. It's personal."

"Brett, we're friends! We have been for ages now, so come on, spill and tell me what's going on. Is it something to do with Gabby's brother? I saw you two at Molly's the other night."

Sylvie frowned, confused. "Wait, you were at Molly's? I didn't see you."

"I was with Kidd, having a few post-work drinks. It was a stressful shift that day, as you know first hand. We were having a calm down and Kidd pointed out you were sitting with Antonio, looking pretty damned cozy." He chuckled.

"Did you apologise to Stella?" Sylvie hadn't really noticed any difference between the two of them since the incident on shift the other day. Stella hadn't been any different. But ever since the problems with Grant a few months ago they hadn't been the same around each other. Sylvie had thought that Severide was good for Stella - they balanced each other out and she had constantly been wanting them to make up.

"Yeah, I apologised to her," Severide shrugged. "You were right on shift that day, that I was being a douche to her. It wasn't her fault any of that crap with Grant went down. But that's all I'm going to say about it, no more questions. You won't answer mine, I won't answer yours." He winked, standing up and walking back into his office.

"I'll get it out of you one day, Sylvie Brett," He grinned, closing the door behind him.

Sylvie felt her phone buzz in her hands and looked down, unlocking it and going into the messages, seeing a new one from Antonio and wondering why he was texting her at a quarter to 12 at night.

 _Antonio Dawson:_ When do you finish? I'll take you to breakfast.

 _Sylvie Brett:_ 7:00am! I'll be waiting :)

* * *

Sylvie ignored the massive grin on Gabby's face when she told her she didn't need a lift back home because Antonio was taking her to breakfast. She watched as Gabby and Matt pulled away, leaning up against the brick wall outside of the firehouse.

It was almost 7:30 by the time Antonio pulled up outside the firehouse and hurried out of his car up to Sylvie, he pulled her into a hug as a greeting. "Damn, I'm sorry, Sylvie. I got a call from Laura early this morning about Diego and Eva staying over this weekend."

Sylvie shook her head. "No, it's fine, don't worry about it. I wasn't waiting for long, and it's not too cold out here yet so I lived." She shrugged. "But I am very hungry for some good pancakes, so let's go?"

Antonio grinned, leading Sylvie down to his car and opening the door for her before getting into the drivers side and starting the car up again. "I didn't know if you'd reply last night," he spoke as they drove.

"I wasn't asleep until just after three, actually. We got a call just after I replied to your text, so you're lucky." She chuckled, fiddling with the sleeves of her jacket in the car.

It was true - just before 12 they got a call to a house fire in Brighton Park. Sylvie and Gabby had managed to treat the only person in the house before taking him to the hospital and getting him checked out for first degree burns and smoke inhalation. It wasn't too bad and they'd been back at the firehouse by two, but Sylvie hadn't been able to sleep until 3.

With the constant threat from the men still worrying her, even though Antonio had assured her there wasn't much to worry about anymore, in addition to the stress after a call it had been difficult for her to sleep at work now, and even at home with Gabby and Matt. Even if she knew she could trust both places completely, it didn't stop the constant worry in her mind about them.

Antonio pulled up outside a small diner in the center of Chicago, getting out of the car and opening the door for Sylvie before leading her inside. She ordered blueberry pancakes and orange juice while he went for a simple eggs benedict and coffee. As they waited for their food to arrive, Antonio turned to look at her.

"You don't think we're moving too fast with this, do you?" Antonio asked, keeping his brown eyes on her blue ones.

She shook her head. "No, I think we're going at a good pace. We're both recently out of serious relationships and I wouldn't want to take this any slower. We've kissed, we've been on dates. And it's been a while since that first day at the scene of the crime, so we're good."

Antonio nodded at her, thanking the waitress as she put his coffee and her orange juice down on the table. He picked it up and blew on it a little before taking a sip, appreciating the taste of it. "Good, I'm glad," he smiled. "I've got work after this, so I won't be able to see you again until your next day off, I think."

Sylvie frowned but nodded back at him. "Yeah, I understand. Are you working on anything exciting at the moment?" She knew he wouldn't be able to diverge any serious information to her, but a yes or no would suffice, especially as the same waitress had just placed their food on the table in front of them.

"We're actually still just working on your case," Antonio spoke, beginning to cut up the food on his plate and eat it. "No developments since what I last told you, but if there is any news you'll be the first to know."

Sylvie dug into her breakfast, nodding. The blueberry pancakes were delicious, and she hadn't felt at all embarrassed about her eating habits in front of Antonio like she had around Harrison. Harrison had made her feel like she needed to be formal and proper the whole time. She rarely had pancakes for breakfast with him. It was usually cereal.

Antonio was different than that, she realised. She didn't feel embarrassed around him. Maybe it was the fact that she'd always known him through association with Gabby, or something completely different. But either way, she really liked spending time with him. And she felt like he knew that too. The fact that it hadn't been very long since their first proper date and the fact that they'd first kissed only a few days ago made everything feel so refreshing to Sylvie.

There was none of the stress that her relationship with Harrison had brought her, none of the guilt or worry. There was none of the feeling about not being Cruz's type of girl there either. Antonio was the type of guy that would do both - he'd stay in or he'd go out for drinks at Molly's with her if she wanted. That was what was important to her. And she was grateful for that.

Antonio pulled up outside of Gabby and Matt's house just before 9am. He, once again, opened her car door for her and walked her to the front door of the house, ignoring the patrol car on the street watching the house and letting her unlock the front door so they could slightly step inside. Sylvie had assured him that Gabby and Matt would be asleep, and she was right, seeing a note that Gabby had pinned to the cork board near the door that they'd installed to keep keys and important notes on.

 _Matt and I are sleeping off the shift, don't be worried about making too much noise._

He chuckled as he read the note, eyes shifting to Sylvie. "Does my sister always do that for you?"

Sylvie shrugged. "I'm rarely away from home this time of the morning anyway, but I'm sure that it would happen often if I was."

Antonio shook his head in amusement. "At least she's cleared that up for you now," he smiled. "I had a great time this morning, Sylvie. That eggs benedict was actually a really great meal. Good choice on my part, hey?"

"Oh, the best. I don't think I've ever had better pancakes. Don't tell Casey that, either," she joked. "But really, I had a great night too. You're good company. Thanks for doing that for me. If you hadn't, I'd be asleep right now too. And honestly, it was really nice to see you after shift."

"Maybe we should do that once a week then? Breakfast after shift?" He suggested. Sylvie nodded at him, a smile falling onto her face.

She liked the idea. There was none of that with Harrison or Cruz before, and it was refreshing to her Antonio wanting to spend time with her and develop their relationship.

Antonio nodded back at her. "I suppose I should be off to work," he chuckled. "I'll text you late to check in, make sure you haven't slept the day away and all that."

"I'll turn my phone on silent," she grinned, jokingly. Antonio rolled his eyes and grinned back at her before stepping toward the door.

He turned back to face her again as she adjusted her feet on the ground to face him as well. "I'll see you later, Sylvie," Antonio smiled, leaning in toward her and pressing his lips to hers. She kissed him back, feeling the butterflies in her stomach once more as his hand rested on her waist.

Finally, he pulled away, yet Sylvie wished he didn't have to go so she could kiss him again. With one of the cutest grins she'd ever seen, he stepped out the door, disappearing back to his car and leaving Sylvie smiling with glee.

* * *

"Wait a second, you what!?" Kim exclaimed, slamming her wine glass onto the table and looking at Sylvie in shock. "I told you he had a thing for you, and I was right! Kim gets it right again."

Sylvie grinned, taking a sip of her cocktail and shaking her head at her friend. "Oh, shush. Both of us didn't even realise until recently. But I suppose you were right in the end."

Kim and Sylvie had met up at Molly's just after 9pm, having needed a bit of a girls night. Plus, Sylvie just wanted to see the reaction of Kim when she told her that she and Antonio had kissed.

It was completely worth it.

"How was it, though? Is he a good kisser? Tay is completely jealous, I'll have you know. She told me only a few shifts ago that she thinks he's got something going on. I think she would have gone for him herself if he hadn't taken a fancy to you, actually, Brett."

Sylvie nodded. "He's a great kisser, I'll have you know," she chuckled. "I don't really know Tay too well, actually. I'm sure she's great, though. But now that you mention it, I am incredibly lucky that he likes me. I thought that there'd be no one after Cruz, and especially after Jimmy. But I was wrong."

Kim smirked at her and took a sip of her wine. "Honey, you're one of the most eligible girls I know. If Antonio hadn't snapped you up I can guarantee anyone else would have. That Will Halstead over at Med, if the two of you weren't such good friends I'd place any bet that he'd be the one taking you on dates before Antonio."

"No, but seriously, Kim. I was beginning to start spending my days as a single maid. I was getting used to my life as Sylvie Brett, the single paramedic. There aren't many people who can deal with the crazy hours I have, other than Antonio."

Kim smiled at her, finishing off her glass of wine. "You and Antonio are cute, I've got to admit that. And I've also got to admit that Tay and I spent a bit of time up in intelligence the other day, after the day the two of you kissed. He was grinning like an idiot, I'm pretty sure even Voight noticed something was up. You can even ask Gabby. I haven't seen Antonio that happy since he was first with Laura. You're a lucky girl, Sylvie."

"You have no idea..."


	12. Chapter 12 - A Real Secret Chef

**A/N: It's here. The very requested Antonio POV. I hope I've done him justice. I love Antonio's relationship with Gabby, and I think it's fun to explore his divorce with Laura and his love for his kids a bit. Plus, cute relationship development. Enjoy!**

* * *

 _Antonio's POV_

"Listen, Laura," Antonio sighed, leaning back in his chair at his desk. "Just let me see the kids for one day this weekend, just Saturday or Sunday. I need to see them, and you know I do."

"You're not seeing them this weekend, Antonio!" Laura exclaimed through the phone. "I've got my parents visiting this weekend and they want to see them. You'll get them at Christmas for a day, I've told you that before."

"Christmas is weeks away, Laura! They're just as much my kids as yours and I deserve to see them just as much as you see them. This should not be so goddamned complicated." Antonio ran a hand through his hair, messing it up in frustration.

He hadn't seen his kids in months, and he missed them. He knew he was right here - Eva and Diego needed to spend time with their father just as much as their mother, even if they were dealing with the divorce. They were his kids, he'd raised them. He'd been the one to care for Diego after he'd been taken by Pulpo. He needed to see them.

"I'm not negotiating this, Antonio," Laura stated, very bluntly, he noted, through the phone line. "You'll see them at Christmas, I'm sure you can live without them until then. Now, if you don't mind, I'm busy. I'll talk to you later."

She hung up the phone call on him and Antonio, annoyed, slammed his phone down onto his desk, hitting his fist against the wooden surface.

"Woah, there, Bruce Banner. Don't go breaking the desk," Gabby chuckled, walking up the stairs and stopping in front of his desk. "What's got you all fired up? Bad case?"

Antonio shook his head and leant back in his chair, just wishing all the stress with the divorce would disappear soon. He missed his kids, and he knew Gabby missed them too.

"If you call Laura negotiating the kids with me a bad case, sure, sis." He scoffed, his eyes still focused on the desk in front of him. "She won't let me see them until Christmas."

"Oh, come on. Is she serious? I thought she'd be more mature about all this. It's not like suddenly after a divorce you stop becoming their father," Gabby rolled her eyes, sitting down on the edge of her brothers desk.

"That's Laura for you," he shrugged, trying to keep his tone neutral. "Enough of her. What brings you to Intelligence, sis?" He asked, wanting to both drop the Laura talk and figure out what his sister was doing at the precinct.

Gabby nodded, wanting to stop talking about Laura too - she'd done nothing these past few months other than make Antonio unhappy, and she'd had enough of it. "Well, it's my day off so I came to ask you about the case with Sylvie. She told me you stopped by a few days ago and talked to her about some new information. Anything else new come in?"

"I'm guessing Brett filled you in?" Gabby nodded. "We've got barely anything else since then. No leads about who the third guy could be, but we're looking. You can't doubt us on that. The whole of Intelligence just wants this all to be over, for both you and Sylvie's sake. The idea of you two being in danger isn't a kind idea towards us."

"No shit," Gabby sighed, entwining her fingers together. "If you get any new stuff, let us know, okay, Tonio? We want to be the first to hear if you get this guy."

Antonio nodded at her. "For sure, sis. You and Sylvie are priority to this case right now. Just hope it won't be long until we find the guy. How's Louie doing, by the way? And how were those cookies?"

Gabby grinned at him. "Those cookies just reinforced the fact that Sylvie is most definitely a secret chef. They were damned good, even if the icing was a little messy. Sylvie's good for Louie. She's bubbly, she's fun. He needs that, especially if Matt and I aren't having the greatest day."

"How are you and Matt, then? Now that you've brought it up, I want to know how my little sister and her relationship are going."

"We're great," Gabby smiled. "Honestly, Tonio. I'm really happy with where we are right now. I didn't think he'd want to take on Louie, but he's been so great with him. I'm finally starting to feel like we're a little family, even if Sylvie's staying with us now. It's good."

Antonio chuckled at her and nodded. "I'm so damned happy for you, sis. You and Matt have gone through the ringer and back, you deserve this more than anyone I know. Especially now you've got Lou," he stated. "And if you and Matt ever want some alone time with Louie as a family, call me. I'm happy to take Sylvie out when I can."

Gabby winked at him, standing up from the desk and looking down at him. "How serious are you two anyway?" She asked, crossing her arms across her chest.

Antonio shrugged at her. "We haven't really discussed it, sis. I don't know if we're properly serious or anything. We should probably clarify it at some point..." he trailed off.

"Talk to her about it, Tonio," Gabby sighed. "This isn't going to go anywhere if you two aren't talking. Are you dating, are you not? Are you boyfriend and girlfriend, are you not? She deserves the clarification just as much as you do."

"I know," Antonio agreed. "She's off work today too, right?"

Gabby nodded at him.

"I'll organise something for tonight," he suggested. "It feels so odd to be talking about this with you of all people, sis. I mean, I thought that I'd be with Laura forever, and now I'm not. I don't know... I feel too old to be getting into a new relationship." He chuckled.

Gabby rolled her eyes at him. "Hey, don't take my words literally. You and Sylvie are good together, who cares if you're practically ancient now?"

Antonio scoffed. "Ha-ha, Gabriela, you're hilarious," he stood up from his chair. "But really, thanks for being there, sis." He pulled her into a hug, holding her tight. He was grateful to have someone like Gabby in his life and he always would be.

Pulling away, he pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Go home to Matt and Louie, I'll see you later, sis," he smiled. "Stay safe out there."

* * *

 _Later that evening_

"Oh, hey, Antonio, nice of you to drop by!" Sylvie smiled, hopping off of the couch and turning off the television. He hadn't been able to see what she'd been watching before, but he figured that she'd turned it off just to be kind, rather than being embarrassed of what was on.

"Figured I'd drop in and ask if you were free tonight," he replied, leaning against the side of the kitchen bench. "Gabby came and saw me earlier, gave me an idea."

Sylvie nodded at him, dropping the remote back onto the coffee table and looking up at him. He couldn't help but notice how adorable she looked - dressed in what he believed were probably a pair of old sweatpants and a shirt with the logo of the Rolling Stones on the front of it. Her hair was tied up into a messy ponytail, and he figured she'd just left it that way after her shift had ended.

"What did you have in mind?" She questioned, crossing her arms across her chest and looking over at him.

"Dinner and a movie back at mine?" He suggested. "Interested?"

Sylvie grinned at him and nodded her head. "Definitely. If you wait here I'll go and get changed into something other than these ratty pyjamas and meet you back out here." She smiled, disappearing into her bedroom.

Antonio waited outside, his arms crossed over his chest as he looked around at Gabby and Matt's place. It was small, but not small enough to be confining, he realised. Louie obviously had his space in with Gabby and Matt. He made a mental note to bring up the living conditions with Gabby later - if she wanted more space with Matt, he'd suggest Sylvie come and stay with him. Now that he knew his kids wouldn't be at his place until Christmas, he knew there would be a spare bed. Plus, the patrol car would only have to watch for Gabby considering that Antonio would be there for Sylvie.

Sylvie appeared in front of him a few minutes later, now dressed in a pair of jeans and a blue and white long sleeved shirt. "Good to go?" She smiled.

Antonio nodded at her, stepping toward her and capturing her hand in his before leading her to the front door and outside toward his car. Only a few months ago he'd rarely had anyone else in his car other than himself, yet now, he found that Sylvie was a constant visitor in it. He didn't mind, either, she was good company.

The car ride back to Antonio's took just under half an hour due to the surprisingly good traffic. He opened up the car door for her and took her hand again, leading her upstairs into his apartment and closing the door behind him.

"What are we eating?" Sylvie asked, sitting her bag on the counter and taking a seat on one of the bench chairs. He remembered that Sylvie had been here a few weeks ago, and had slept happily in the spare bed in the spare room. He knew that, if it came down to it, Sylvie would enjoy it here with him.

Antonio shrugged, before laughing softly. "I hadn't really thought that far. I'm not the best cook. Most days I don't even have the energy to put a pizza in the microwave and eat it."

Sylvie grinned at him and slid off the chair, walking around to stand beside him in the kitchen. "Help me cook something, then," She suggested, raising her eyebrows at him. "I make a kick-ass chicken stir-fry."

* * *

"Gabby was right," Antonio groaned, rubbing his stomach in satisfaction before laughing softly. "You are a secret chef."

Sylvie let out a loud, and very adorable, laugh. "It's my secret, you're right. That's all I'm hiding. The fact that every Tuesday night I work at a secret restaurant in downtown Chicago," she joked.

Antonio smirked at her and shook his head. "Really, though, Brett, that was amazing. I don't know what I'd do without you."

He didn't miss her smile falter just a little, and his smile instantly turned into a frown as he reached for her hand across the table. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Sylvie shook her head and put on a smile. "Absolutely nothing, Antonio, don't you worry."

"Sylvie, I'm a cop. I know when people are lying."

"Ugh, fine," she groaned, shaking her head. "I don't know what we're doing - this, us... what are we, Antonio?"

Antonio moved to crouch on the ground in front of her, making them around the same height. He frowned, taking both of her hands in his. "We're whatever you want us to be, Sylvie," he sighed. "What do you want us to be?"

Sylvie thought for a moment before speaking, looking directly into Antonio's eyes. "Do you think we're both ready for a commitment like this? A real commitment?"

"I'm ready for it if you are," Antonio nodded, reaching his hands up to gently hold her face. He leant in and pressed his lips to hers, smiling as he pulled away. "If you want to tell people we're in a relationship, that we're testing this all out, I'm cool with it."

"Then we are," Sylvie smiled, leaning back into him and kissing him softly before pulling away. "You're my... boyfriend. We're in a relationship..."

Antonio smirked at her and stood back up again, grabbing their empty plates from dinner and taking them over to the sink. "You got that right, baby."


	13. Chapter 13 - Step Away, Sir

**A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews of the last chapter. I'm glad you all enjoyed Antonio's POV so much. I'll definitely be writing more from him! Enjoy Chapter 13!**

* * *

 _Sylvie's POV_

"Cruz, there is no way you're going to convince Otis that he's made the shortlist for the Mission to Mars," Sylvie scoffed, taking a sip of her wine and shaking her head at his friend. They'd been at Molly's for just over an hour now after another tough shift. Cruz had just conveyed his ideas for pranking Otis to Sylvie. She knew there was no way he'd buy it.

Cruz shook his head, "No, he'll believe me, Sylvie," he assured her. "Me and Otis - we're best friends. He'll believe anything he gets in his emails, I know that first hand. This idea? It's genius. He's a hundred percent going to fall for it. And the looks on Herrmann and Mouch's faces when he tells them will be worth it completely, I'm telling you."

"I know Otis too, Cruz, but this is a long shot and you know it," Sylvie sighed, tapping her fingers on the bar. "I'm listening, though. Tell me your plans."

She watched as Cruz grinned at her and took a sip of his own beer before sitting it back on the bar and leaning in towards her. "Okay, get this - cricket protein powder. He'll totally fall for it when I explain to him how great it'll be up there on Mars. It'll take a bit of convincing on my part, but I think it'll work."

"Wait a second, cricket protein powder? Is that actually a thing?"

"Of course it's a thing, Sylvie!" Cruz exclaimed, as if it was odd of Sylvie to think that it actually wasn't real. "I've found some on Amazon, and I put in the order already. I'll send the shortlist email tomorrow night from a fake account and by the time we're back on shift he'll be trying, and failing, to keep it a secret that he's been shortlisted for Mission: Mars."

Sylvie was glad that she still had Cruz in her life. She'd thought that after the break-up he'd not want to be friends with her anymore, but after a while, he'd been completely willing. And he kept the same worry as he did when they were dating. Like when Sylvie had been kidnapped with Mills, she knew that Cruz was always going to be there for her even if they weren't dating anymore.

She was lucky to know Cruz that well, really. And it didn't matter anymore to either of them that they'd been together before. All that mattered to Cruz was that Sylvie was happy and safe, and Sylvie wished the same on Cruz. Their friendship was worth more than anything Sylvie could have asked for, and she loved it.

Not only was she glad to have Cruz's friendship, but she was glad to have Otis' as well. She knew that he'd been crushing on her for months, but it seemed he was finally starting to get over her. Especially know that it was a well-known fact that she was dating Antonio now. She'd been teased about it since the day she'd told the guys in the house last week after their dinner together.

Both Cruz and Otis had taken it surprisingly well, congratulating her with a hug and kiss on the cheek, as they'd usually do. And, after glaring at Severide who had only a few weeks ago told her that he'd apologise to Stella when Sylvie got a boyfriend. Even though he'd already apologised to Stella now, he still pulled Brett into a hug and apologised for being a douche to her just as much as he had been to Stella.

In front of her, Cruz took another drink of his beer and continued speaking to her. "You can't let Otis know that you're aware of this plan, though, you got it?"

Sylvie nodded at him. "Your secret is safe with me, Cruz. But if this all goes wrong, you can't blame me for telling you it was a bad idea. I was against it from the start, don't forget that."

Cruz chuckled but nodded at her before motioning to the barman to grab him another beer. He delivered him one right away, putting it on Cruz's tab before turning back to Sylvie.

"How are you dealing with everything? With the threats and all that?" He asked. She knew he was worried about her, and she was grateful for that. Cruz was always kind to her, he always had been, and Sylvie knew that this was stressful for him as well.

Sylvie shrugged at him. "I've been better, but I've been worse too. This was more difficult at the beginning when we knew nothing about it, but the guys in Intelligence have been really great with it all, you know? Without them, I'd still be terrified about walking out of the house alone, but with patrol looking out for me, and the rest of Intelligence too, it's not so bad."

"As long as you're okay, Sylvie," Cruz nodded, cracking open the top of his beer open and taking a drink of it. "If you ever need to talk to someone other than Kidd, Dawson or Antonio, you're always welcome to talk to me. You're one of my best friends here in Chicago, and that's never going to change."

"I'm good, really. I'm good," Sylvie assured him, finishing off her glass of wine and sitting it back on the bar. "It's late, though, and we've got to be back at work at seven tomorrow. So, I'll see you on shift." She smiled at him, hopping off the bar stool.

"Do you need a lift home?" Cruz asked, watching her grab a few notes out of her wallet and put them on the counter for the wine.

Sylvie shook her head at him and pulled her handbag over her shoulder. "No, Gabby let me take her car tonight since she's home with Matt and Louie anyway. I'm good to get home. Thank you, though, Cruz," she nodded, making her way to the door. "I'll see you tomorrow, though. Don't forget that beauty sleep. You need it." She joked before disappearing out the door.

* * *

"You're all getting a treat today, guys," Sylvie grinned, placing the tray of cheesy jacket potatoes and corned beef on the table in front of everyone.

"Ah, Chef Sylvie has returned!" Severide exclaimed, grabbing some of it from the tray and putting it onto one of his own plates. It had just passed lunchtime at the firehouse and the day hadn't been too busy so far.

It had been raining for most of the morning and it was finally starting to feel cold in Chicago. They hadn't been out on a call all morning and Sylvie had decided to treat everyone to a warm and cooked lunch, figuring they'd need it for strength or something if they got a call later this afternoon.

Sylvie took a seat down next to Otis and served some up herself, smiling as Chief Boden entered the room and grabbed some for himself. She knew he'd smelt it from the office and couldn't resist.

The fact that she knew Otis was going to be pranked later tonight made it even harder for her to sit next to him and act normal. She caught Cruz's eye across the table though and knew she had to stay quiet, for his sake. If this joke worked, she knew that it'd be the talk of the firehouse for at least two shifts.

Around the table, Gabby, Matt, Stella, Mouch, Severide, Herrmann, Otis, Cruz and Boden were all happily enjoying lunch, with the rest of the guys from the firehouse eventually joining them and filling up the table. Again, much to Mouch's dismay, the food was gone by the time he wanted seconds.

Sylvie smiled at him in sympathy, knowing how much he would have loved seconds on this. But also knowing that if Trudy found out he'd been shoving his face with food at work, he'd be in big trouble. She liked food just as much as he did, but she knew that Trudy would think two cheesy jacket potatoes would be a bit too much for a casual lunch meal, especially with the bacon and eggs he'd ate for breakfast.

She felt her phone buzz in her pocket and pulled it out quickly, reading the new message from Antonio.

 _Antonio Dawson:_ Are you still good for breakfast tomorrow morning?

 _Sylvie Brett:_ Never been more excited for blueberry pancakes! See you then X

"So, Sylvie..." Stella began, taking a drink of her coffee on the table in front of her. "How's life with a boyfriend now? Our little Sylvie with a cop, I'm emotional just thinking about it."

Sylvie rolled her eyes at Stella, taking a bite of the potato. "Oh, shush, Stella," she chuckled. "But if you must know, I'm very happy with life right now." She smirked, shaking her head in amusement.

Stella grinned across the table at her. "Did you hear that, Gabby? Your big brother and our little Sylvie..."

"I swear I'm going to hit you across the back of the head if you don't shut up soon, Kidd," Gabby joked, taking a sip of her own coffee. "I enjoy teasing them as much as the next person, but please, not during lunch. Especially when I'm enjoying this so much."

Just as Sylvie went to take another bite of potato, the alarm went off in the station. "Ambulance 61, Gunshot wound, 1531 South Karlov Avenue _"_

Both of them jumped up quickly, hurrying out of the firehouse and straight to the ambulance. Gabby hopped into the drivers side and Sylvie slid into the passenger seat. She turned on the music, glad that Gabby had allowed for her to play country music whenever she drove. They'd worked it out well that way - whenever Gabby drove, Sylvie chose the music and vice versa.

They arrived at the scene minutes later, the rain having turned to snow and ice on the ground below them during the hours they'd been in the firehouse. They pulled the ambo over, Gabby grabbing the bag and walking carefully across the road to the house they'd been called to with Sylvie following behind.

Gabby knocked on the door. "Fire Department, Ambulance 61." She called. No one replied. With a look at Sylvie, she nudged the door open, finding that someone had already opened it.

The two of them walked inside quietly, Gabby asking if anyone was inside. When they reached the living room, they heard a groan outside. "Come on," Gabby called to Sylvie who was checking a room behind them. Sylvie rushed outside with Gabby, finding a man sitting on the floor of a flat in the backyard, the door wide open.

"Sir, we're here to treat your leg. Can you tell me what happened?" Gabby asked, dropping to her knees beside him and unzipping the bag, working on sussing out the wound and talking to the man.

The man only groaned in pain and Gabby sighed. "Brett, go grab the gurney. This guy won't be able to walk without it. This wound is pretty bad."

Sylvie nodded, beginning to jog back through the open house and back onto the road where they'd parked the ambo. She watched her step on the snow which was now settling onto the asphalt. That was one of the reasons Sylvie wasn't a fan of winter - calls when they had to fight the snow weren't fun.

She pulled open the doors of the ambo, hopping inside and accidentally knocking some of the equipment from the side of the ambo as she did so. She ignored it, grabbing the end of the gurney and working to push it out of the ambo, letting the back wheels hit the snowy ground.

As she was about to jump out, she stopped still at the sight of a man standing a few feet away from her. He was holding a gun, a beanie wrapped around his head, scarf around his neck, dressed in a black trench-coat.

"Uh, sir, I'm going to have to ask you to step away," Sylvie spoke, hoping her voice didn't sound as nervous as she suddenly was. The fact that this man may have been the person who shot their patient crossed her mind, not long before the fact that he may have been working with the men who threatened her crossed it too.

She stepped slowly down from the ambulance, moving to the other side of the gurney to distance herself from him. He still hadn't moved, but the gun was still trained on her.

"Listen, sir. I'm going to need you to step away so I can take this to treat our patient." Sylvie spoke again, her hands steadying the gurney as it sat half in the ambulance and half on the ground.

As she went to move again, she felt a hot pain hit her side and stumbled backwards, her hands immediately moving to her side and putting pressure on it. She watched as the man ran from the scene as she lost her balance from the pain and fell to the side of the ambulance, pushing herself up against the wheel and groaning it pain.

She risked a look at her side which was now covered in blood, her hands covering the wound also covered in the substance. Stars danced in her vision as the pain intensified, her hands pressing harder on the wound to try and stop the bleeding as best she could.

She knew there was no chance she'd be able to stand with this pain, and, moving one of her bloody hands and leaving the other on the wound, moved it up to the radio hooked around her body, pressing it and speaking in a painfully soft whisper, hoping whoever was on the other end would be able to hear her.

"Ambulance 61 requesting police back-up. Paramedic down."

Her eyes drooped quickly, her hand dropping from the radio and onto the cold snow as everything around her went black.


	14. Chapter 14 - She's A Fighter

**A/N: Apologies for that cliffhanger... here's Chapter 14.**

* * *

 _Antonio's POV._

"Ambulance 61 requesting police back-up, paramedic down."

Antonio heard the words as he descended the stairs, his heart stopping in his chest as he hurried over to Platt at the front desk who had just frantically called Burgess and Tay. "That's my sisters ambo, what's going on?"

"I don't know, Antonio," Platt exclaimed, chucking the keys of a patrol car to Burgess. "Get there as fast as you can. We've got an ambo coming from Med, I don't know what the hell happened but someone's hurt. Their radio went dark."

"Burgess, I'm coming," Antonio called, hurrying down the stairs after her and Tay, the idea of going to get lunch for the Intelligence unit completely erased from his mind. He pulled open the back door of the patrol car and slid in, the car moving away from the district only moments later as Burgess quickly pulled away from the station.

They reached the scene minutes later, Antonio tensing up as he saw the ambo, the lights still on. The three of them exited the car and drew their guns. Antonio walked toward the ambulance on unsteady feet, his gun raised up as he checked the front doors of the ambulance for anyone before heading around the back.

The back doors of the ambulance were pulled open completely, the gurney half inside and half outside the ambo, a bunch of medical equipment was strewn across the floor of the ambo. Antonio tensed up as he saw the blood on the snow near his feet. With a deep breath, he took a step to the left side of the ambo, his gun still raised.

It almost fell to the ground at the sight of Sylvie.

She was leant up against the wheel on the side of the ambulance, her hands pressed to her side and covered in blood. He winced as he fell beside her, instantly checking to see if she had a pulse and letting out a breath he didn't realise he'd been holding when he found it.

"Sylvie, baby, come on," he muttered, putting his hands over hers. "Where the hell is that goddamned ambulance!?" She was unconscious, and he could see the blood on the radio from where she'd obviously radioed in for help, her hand having fallen into the snow. She was freezing. Even if he knew it wouldn't help much, he pulled off his leather jacket and lifted her a little, placing it around her shoulders in any attempt to keep her alive and warm. "Baby, stay with me, come on. Goddamn it! Come on, Sylvie. You're gonna be okay, you're gonna be fine."

His hands moved back to cover the one holding the wound, hating the fact that it was her blood all over his hands now.

He didn't know where Burgess and Tay had gone, but they'd disappeared completely. He hoped that they were tailing the asshole that had done this to her.

At least another five minutes passed before the ambulance pulled up in front of 61, Antonio called to them as they pulled out the gurney and ran over to him. "Gunshot wound to the right side, she's bleeding out." He spoke, hoping the worry in his voice wasn't conveyed. They quickly worked on stopping the bleeding before lifting her onto the gurney.

"You gonna ride along?" The paramedic asked. Antonio waited for a beat but shook his head instead, hating the fact that he knew he had to stay.

"No, I need to find the other paramedic she was with. Keep her alive, though. I'm counting on you for that!" He stated.

Antonio turned around and sighed as the ambulance carrying Sylvie drove away. He hurried to the house to the left of the ambulance, knocking on the door quickly. A middle-aged woman opened it.

"Have you seen a woman around here lately? Short dark hair, paramedic?" He asked, his voice hurried and full of worry.

"Yeah, she went into the apartment across the road from here, some asshole got shot," the lady said, casually, shrugging.

Antonio thanked her quickly before hurrying across the street and to the other apartment building. He knocked on it, yet no one answered as the door swung open under the sheer impact of his fist on the door. He raised his gun in his hand and stepped inside the apartment, keeping his back to the wall and the door as he checked the rooms.

After clearing the house, he moved outside, letting the door close behind him. There was a small flat in the back yard and the door to it was completely open. He could hear Gabby's voice inside.

"I'm gonna need you to stay still for me, okay? God, where the hell is Brett!?" She groaned. Antonio frowned and hurried through the yard, gun still raised as he reached the door.

Gabby turned around, fear in her eyes at the gun, yet she quickly realised it was her brother. "Oh, my God. Antonio, what the hell are you doing here?!"

"How badly is he hurt?" Antonio asked, motioning to the guy on the ground in front of her. Gabby's hands were packed on top of bandages wrapped around his thigh. "Can he walk?"

"He got shot in the thigh, but he can walk if you help me. Have you seen Brett and the Gurney?" Gabby asked, standing up. Antonio pulled him from the ground of the flat, ignoring her question as Gabby threw the bag over her shoulder and helped Antonio pull him back through the house and out to the ambo.

"What the hell happened, Tonio?" Gabby winced, pulling the gurney out fully and, with Antonio's aid, putting the man onto the gurney. They pushed him inside, closing one of the doors. "Tell me what happened. I'm not leaving until you do."

Antonio sighed, shaking his head and glancing to his hands which were still covered in Sylvie's blood. "Damned asshole must have been using a silencer," he exclaimed. "Listen, I'm going to have to get a statement when we get to the hospital. All I'm telling you right now is that Sylvie has been shot, and we need to get to Med. Now."

* * *

"Gabby, it is not your fault," Antonio reassured her, his hands now holding hers as they sat in the break room in the emergency department at Med. "Do not blame yourself for this, sis. It's that goddamned asshole's fault that shot her. You had no say on the matter."

"I should never have told her to go get that stupid gurney on her own, Antonio," she shook her head. "I should have known better considering how much trouble she's in with the threats."

Antonio had come back to Med with Gabby, letting Halstead and Manning tend to the gunshot victim they'd picked up. He'd convinced Maggie to give them an update on Sylvie. She was being looked after by Dr. Rhodes, they were working on getting the bullet out of her and stopping the bleeding. Making sure the bullet hadn't hit anything important that could seriously damage her.

He'd sat Gabby down to ask her what had happened before they'd gotten the call, yet Gabby could only tell them what she could remember. She'd told Sylvie to go and get the gurney from the ambo, but she hadn't come back. It hadn't occurred to her that anything bad had happened. She'd been focused on helping the man.

"Listen, Gabby," Antonio sighed, gripping her hands tighter. "You were just doing your job, that's your main priority. Don't beat yourself up over this, sis. It's not your fault. Sylvie's strong, you said that to me when I first asked her out. She's gonna pull through, and she is _not_ going to blame you."

The door of the break room opened and Matt came rushing in. Gabby looked up, before standing and rushing to him too, wrapping her arms around him. Antonio stood, patting Gabby on the back and leaving the two of them alone in the break room, figuring that wherever Matt was, the rest of the firehouse was.

He spotted Cruz and Otis in the waiting room and made his way toward them, stopping in front of them. "How you all doing?"

Cruz shrugged. "We all just want to know if Brett's okay. Do you know anything? We haven't heard anything since they went on call."

Antonio nodded. "Last I heard she was in surgery. The bullet didn't go straight through. But Maggie was positive, so you've got that to hold onto." He reassured him, glad that Brett knew someone like Cruz who, even though their relationship hadn't worked out, still cared deeply about her.

"Man, I hope so," Cruz sighed, sitting back down in the chair of the waiting room. "We can't lose her, Antonio."

"I know you can't, and you won't, Cruz," Antonio put a hand on his shoulder. "She's gonna pull through this, I know she will. You know how strong she is. You know."

* * *

Hours had passed. It was getting dark by the time Dr. Rhodes appeared in the waiting room, looking as if he hadn't performed any sort of surgery in hours considering how clean and fresh he looked. Antonio stood immediately, followed by Matt, Gabby and Cruz.

"The gunshot wound you brought in, Gabby, will be fine. The bullet didn't hit anything important," he began.

Antonio rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "I don't give a shit about him!"

Gabby, who was behind him, stepped forward and grabbed his arm. "Tonio, don't." She warned him.

With a glare from Rhodes, Antonio sighed and shook his head again, letting Rhodes speak.

"Sylvie Brett will be fine," he continued. "She's going to be in here for a few more days while we make sure she's okay. The bullet didn't hit anything vital. That shooter must have had very good aim or Sylvie was just incredibly lucky."

"Can she have visitors?" Gabby asked from beside Antonio.

Rhodes nodded hesitantly. "Only a few, though. She's not awake just yet, but I can let two or three of you in there just to be there when she wakes up. I'll let you figure out who that'll be for a moment while I consult with Maggie about something, come on through and I'll take you up."

He walked out of the waiting room as Antonio turned around to face the rest of the people who were there for her. He watched as a few of them discussed among themselves who was going in and sighed. "I don't care who comes in with us, but Gabby and I are going to be there when she wakes up, no matter what you say," he spoke.

Everyone's eyes moved to him and he caught Boden's specifically, nodding at him as he agreed - Gabby needed to be there because they were best friends and partners, and Antonio needed to be there because she was his girlfriend. Cruz sighed and stood up from his chair which he'd only recently sat down in again.

"I'll come too, I need to see her," he suggested. Antonio nodded, watching as Gabby gave Matt a quick kiss before walking up to Antonio. He wrapped an arm around her and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"She's going to be fine, sis. We're gonna find the bastard that did this to her, and he's going down," he said to her, following Cruz through the emergency doors.

They stopped in front of Rhodes who looked at who had decided to come along and nodded. He motioned for them to follow and they made their way up slowly to Sylvie's room.

Antonio felt his heart break a little at the sight of Sylvie, unconscious and laying on the hospital bed, hooked up to machines to give her fluids and blood to help her regain her health. He took the seat closest to the bed and took one of her hands in his, glad that it was different than the last time he'd held her hand - while they were both covered in blood. Gabby and Cruz both took seats on the other side of the bed as the three of them waited for her to wake up. He knew, as he watched Sylvie, that he was going to make the man that shot her pay.

* * *

 **A/N: Another Antonio POV, though I'm sure it wasn't what you were hoping for... Let me know your thoughts in the reviews!**


	15. Chapter 15 - Give Him Hell

**A/N: Lots of Antonio POV lately, but I'm sure you're enjoying it, even if the circumstance isn't great! Enjoy Chapter 15!**

* * *

 _Antonio's POV_

Antonio had been sat in the same chair by Sylvie's bedside for hours now. Gabby and Cruz had both disappeared to get food and coffee on different occasions yet Antonio had been the only constant for her. It was well into the night now and Antonio was still waiting for her to wake up.

The thought that she'd been shot and without help back there earlier today was killing him. He knew what it was like to be shot, it'd happened to him before, but the fact that Sylvie had to deal with the repercussions of it now made him wish that he'd kept a better eye on her. He knew it wasn't his fault, nor Gabby's. But he couldn't help but wish he'd not told her that there was little to no threat anymore when he knew there was still someone out there.

He watched for another few moments and sighed when she didn't wake up again. His hand was still holding hers and he'd been planning for the next few hours about everything he was going to do when they got out of the hospital. He was going to tell Gabby that Sylvie was coming to stay with him. The idea of Gabby having to watch over an injured Sylvie and look after Louie at the same time didn't sit well with him.

If Burgess and Tay had caught the guy that had shot Sylvie, the threats that she was dealing with would more or less be over. She wouldn't be in any more danger, and even if she thought it'd be too fast for them to move in together, it was for both safety and care reasons. The fact that they were dating was just an added bonus.

He felt her stir a second later, his eyes moving instantly to her face where her eyes were fluttering open. He felt a surge of excitement run through him at the fact that she was okay and awake.

"Hey. Hey, baby," he muttered, leaning up and pressing a soft kiss to her cheek. She smiled softly back at him.

"Oh, hey, Antonio," he chuckled at her nonchalant tone and sat back down in his chair.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, his hand still holding hers tightly.

She shrugged slightly, turning her head to him. "I've felt better, really," she nodded. "Where's everyone else?"

Antonio looked around the room and turned back to her. "Gabby and Cruz were here before. I think they went to the bathroom or to get coffee or something. I wasn't actually paying attention... bit too occupied with worrying about you. Everyone else had to go back to work. Your shift isn't over for another few hours."

She grinned at him and shook her head. "Well, it's nice to know I had you worrying about me. I'm okay, though. Don't worry. Do the others know I'm okay? Did they catch the shooter? When did you find out about everything?"

Antonio chuckled, "Shhh, baby," he laughed at her many questions. "Everyone knows you're okay. Dr. Rhodes here took _very_ good care of you. Don't worry yourself about all that. I'm not sure if they caught the shooter, I haven't been in contact with Intelligence since I got here, I probably should though. When did I find out? I was there, Sylvie. I heard your call over the radio, tagged along with Tay and Burgess, found you bleeding out beside the ambo. You scared me half to death."

"I'm sorry," she muttered, her eyes falling down to the blanket of the bed. "I wish it wasn't you that had found me like that. You didn't deserve that. I probably looked horrendous... covered in blood and snow."

"You looked just fine," Antonio shook his head, gripping her hand tighter and pressing a kiss to her knuckles. "I'm glad it was me who found you..."

She was about to speak again when Cruz and Gabby reappeared in her room. He looked up at them and noticed the large grin covering Cruz's face.

"Nice to see you're good and awake," he grinned, leaning down and pressing a kiss to her cheek. He sat a book down on the table beside her bed. "Otis told me I had to bring this book up for you. Dune by Frank Herbert, it's called. Told me you like it and might want to reread it while you're in here."

Sylvie smiled at him. "Oh, thanks so much, Cruz. Tell Otis I say thank you when you see him again. It's one of my favourites."

* * *

Antonio, Gabby and Cruz had let Sylvie fall back asleep again a few hours later, just before midnight. Rhodes had come in and checked up on her, giving the three of them the good news that she'd be completely fine with a lot of rest and care.

After she'd fallen asleep again, Cruz had decided to head back to the firehouse, wanting to give the news to Otis and the rest of the firehouse who had headed back to work. Their shift technically hadn't ended yet, but it didn't bother Boden to have Cruz and Gabby off when they were with Sylvie.

After a few minutes, Antonio decided he needed to talk to Gabby about his decision and pulled her outside, just out of the doors so that they'd be able to check on Sylvie if needed, yet if she woke up, she wouldn't be able to hear.

"What's up, Tonio?" Gabby asked, leaning against the wall outside her room.

"I've had an idea, and really, there's no choice for you here. I've been thinking about it for hours, and it's in the best interest of Sylvie, okay?" He began to speak. Gabby nodded at him, crossing her arms across her chest and listening to him as he continued to speak. "I'm going to have Sylvie come and stay with me."

Gabby frowned. "Wait, are you serious, Tonio? She's just been shot! I'm the paramedic, I can take care of her better than you can."

He shook his head in annoyance. "Listen, sis. You've got Matt and Louie back at home. I can tell that you want your space with your family, and I know Sylvie doesn't want to intrude on you all. So, if I have her come and stay with me, you're still free to visit her, it just means you get your space, and she gets hers. I'm perfectly capable of looking after someone who has been shot, Gabby. Don't doubt me here."

"Antonio, you're overreacting. This is Sylvie we're talking about. You've been dating for what, two, three weeks? There is no way Sylvie will agree to come and stay with you over all this. She can take care of herself."

"Enough, Gabby!" Antonio exclaimed, earning a glare from some of the doctors and nurses around the hallway. "She's coming to stay with me. I'm not okay with the idea of you taking care of everyone and putting so much stress on yourself, especially now that you're a mom. She can move back into her apartment when we've cleared everything at the station and she's ready to work again. I've made my decision, and it's final."

Without a second thought, Antonio disappeared back into the hospital room and resumed his seat beside Sylvie's bed. He hated fighting with his sister, but he knew it was for the best this time. He knew that when Sylvie was discharged, she would surely not want to be a burden on Gabby, and the only way for that to stop and change was for him to make the decision for her.

* * *

It was just after 8am that Antonio decided to stop by the precinct. He trusted Gabby to stay and look after Sylvie and knew that Cruz and Otis would be visiting her soon enough anyway, so she'd be fine until he got back later.

He pulled up outside the precinct and made his way upstairs to Intelligence, not without being spotted by Platt, of course. "Hey, Antonio!" She called. He sighed and walked back to the desk, stopping in front of it and raising his eyebrows.

"How's Sylvie Brett doing? We've all heard about what happened." Platt said, quietly. Even if everyone there knew she'd been shot, Platt wasn't one to make a big deal out of being shot. She'd been shot before, and she knew it wasn't fun.

Antonio shrugged, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "She's good, awake, responsive and all that. Gabby and some of the firehouse guys are with her now. Should be discharged by the Tuesday on a two-week medical work break."

Platt nodded at him. "That's good to hear, Antonio," she replied. "I'm sure you want to get back to her so I'll let you go up and do what you're here to do."

"Thanks, Trudy," he muttered, making his way upstairs to Intelligence. He spotted the rest of the team all sitting at their desks - Mouse, Atwater, Ruzek, Olinsky, Halstead, and Erin. Voight was in his office.

Erin, upon seeing him, jumped up from her desk immediately, and rushed toward Antonio, pulling him into a hug. "You doin' okay?" She asked him, obviously worried. It seemed that Erin's hug had alerted everyone to Antonio's presence and they all hurried up to him, clapping him on the back and making their apologies.

Antonio assured them all he was fine before Voight came out and greeted him a well, giving him a somewhat uncharacteristic hug and making sure he was okay.

"How is she, man?" Ruzek asked, sitting down on the edge of Atwater's desk. Antonio knew that Ruzek was friends with Sylvie, and had been for a while. They'd met and spoken quite a few times at Molly's and developed a friendship, and Antonio liked that Sylvie had so many people looking out for her.

He explained to them her condition, all of them listening intently to what he spoke about. "Burgess and Tay - I tagged along to the scene with them. Did they catch the shooter?"

Voight nodded, letting Antonio breathe a sigh of relief. "They brought him back to the precinct a few hours after Sylvie was taken to the hospital. Found him wandering the streets, still holding the gun. We got a few calls from worried residents which helped us track him down."

"And that means?" Antonio asked, hoping that he'd be able to head back to the hospital and tell Sylvie that everything was going to be okay and that the threat was gone now.

"That means that Sylvie and Gabby are safe. We've got all the men associated with that fire and those threats in custody. The shooter won't talk, though. But both the man and his wife from the fire, the man who destroyed her car have. We'll still keep those patrol cars watching for a few more days to make sure everything's good, but for the most part, we're sure that all threats are finished."

Antonio nodded. "Where is he? The shooter?"

"He's downstairs, we're still trying to get him to talk." Voight explained. With a simple look from Antonio, he knew what the plan was. Voight nodded at him and disappeared back into his office. He'd always admired his friendship with Voight, and the fact that a simple look could convey everything. Antonio would head downstairs and make a detour to the back where the cage was. Voight would join him with the shooter.

"I'll walk you down," Jay spoke, walking down the stairs with Antonio. He stopped just outside the gate. "Hey, you and Sylvie - how serious is this?"

Antonio looked at him and raised his eyebrows as if asking if he was really asking that question now, less than a day after she'd been shot.

"We're serious, Jay." He looked at him, his face empty of emotion.

Jay nodded at him. "I was just checking, man. You know you're my friend, and I care about you. I don't want you to have to deal with what happened with Laura before, buddy."

Antonio sighed and nodded at him. "I know, Jay. But trust me - Sylvie isn't Laura. She never has been and she never will be. She's good, and this is working. I appreciate you checking up on me. But please, don't do it again."

With a laugh, Jay grinned. "You got it, man."

As Jay headed back upstairs to the Intelligence Unit, Antonio took the opposite turn from the door, passing by Platt and out the back, waiting for Voight to arrive with the shooter so that the two of them could do exactly what Antonio had planned to since he found Sylvie. Give him hell.


	16. Chapter 16 - Too Many Painkillers

**A/N: Little Antonio cliffhanger... fixed by a Sylvie POV! I think it's time we get some more Sylvie in here.**

* * *

 _Sylvie's POV_

"God, this hospital food tastes awful," Sylvie frowned, pushing away the bowl of porridge that was sat in front of her. Beside the bed, Gabby grinned at her, thoroughly amused that she hated the food.

"Nobody ever said that hospital food tastes good, Brett," Gabby smirked, taking the bowl of porridge from her and sitting it on the table behind where she was sitting. "As I recall, most people have said it tastes rather disgusting."

Sylvie nodded at her. "I agree with everyone who has said tastes bad," she sighed. "And to think, right now, I should be eating blueberry pancakes with your brother. But instead, I'm here, eating twenty five year old porridge, drugged up on pain meds. Can my day get any better?"

"I think it can," Cruz said suddenly, appearing through the door of her room. Sylvie grinned at him and greeted him as he walked into the room and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "How you feeling, Sylvie?"

She shrugged slightly, not wanting to move too much on the chance it'd aggravate her side. "I've had better days," she smiled. "Oh, please tell me you brought some food in that bag of yours. Gabby and I have been trying to deal with hospital breakfast but we both can't get it down."

Cruz laughed at her and held out the brown paper bag to her, which she gratefully took. She pulled it open and grinned at the contents. "You got us blueberry muffins!?" She exclaimed in excitement. "You're the best."

Sylvie took one from the bag and gave the other to Gabby, who took it and immediately pulled the muffin out. "I'm on Sylvie's side here, Cruz. Good call," she nodded, taking a bite of her own and giving the bag back to Sylvie so she wouldn't have crumbs in her bed.

The three of them sat silently for a while so that they could finish their muffins. Sylvie knew it was kind of Cruz to bring them a decent breakfast, but her mind was all over the place - first, if they'd caught the shooter. It was the main thought on her mind. She hadn't seen Antonio since she'd fallen asleep last night but she knew that she needed to talk to him properly about everything while she wasn't so drugged up on the pain meds.

She hadn't asked where he was, though. She knew that Gabby needed to spend time with her right now and that was the most important thing. Sylvie knew Gabby extremely well, and she knew that she'd be blaming herself for everything that happened. She wished she'd been able to talk to her without Cruz there but now that he was here, there was no asking him to leave yet.

Sylvie figured she'd be able to ask her about it later anyway. So, as she finished off her muffin, she just let it slide. It was more important now to talk to Cruz about how the firehouse was taking it all.

"We're worried about you, of course," Cruz spoke after Sylvie asked him. "But we're looking out for you. You're our paramedic, we've got your back. Everyone will come by and visit you sometime today or during the next few weeks before you're back at work, I'm sure of that."

"That's kind of you guys, really," Sylvie smiled. She loved her second family at work, and she knew that they cared about her just as much as she cared about them. It was nice to know they had her back all the time. And even if they hadn't been there when she'd been shot, she knew that they wouldn't let her out of their sight any time soon on shift.

The fact that so many people she worked with had dealt with what she was dealing with right now reassured her a little. She looked back over at Cruz. "Did you do the thing?" She asked, raising her eyebrows and trying not to convey what they were talking about to Gabby.

Cruz grinned at her and nodded. "Worked a charm," he chuckled, glancing at Gabby and laughing at her confused look. She frowned at the two of them.

"What the hell are the two of you on about?" She asked, raising her eyebrows.

Sylvie shook her head. "Nothing to worry about, Gabby," she laughed, enjoying the look of pure confusion on her face.

The three of them sat in silence for a little while longer, just enjoying the silence of the room. She was still incredibly tired, but she knew that sleeping would just allow her to wake up in a few more hours, just as tired as she was now. As she was about to speak again, a knock came on the door and she looked up, spotting a few of the people from the firehouse outside.

Severide, Stella and Otis smiled as they made their way into her room, closing the curtain and door behind them. With a quick greeting from Gabby and Cruz, the two of them said goodbye to Sylvie and left.

Severide smiled as he walked up to Sylvie, pressing a kiss to her cheek before stepping back and allowing Otis to wrap her in a careful but welcome hug. Stella grinned as she took Sylvie's hand. "How you feelin', honey?" She asked her, taking the seat beside the bed where Antonio had sat a few hours ago.

"I feel like I'm going to never have to answer that question again by the time I'm out of here," she chuckled, looking down at Stella. "But I'm fine, really. Nothing a little rest can't fix." She shrugged. "How was the rest of shift?"

Stella shrugged at her. "Pretty boring, really. Boden had to call in a couple paramedics to take over 61 for Gabby and yourself. We got a call just before nine, but it was quiet other than that. Mouch ate the rest of your cheesy jacket potato, by the way. He told me to tell you he apologised for eating yours."

Sylvie rolled her eyes in amusement. "Of course he did," she smirked, shaking her head. "Typical Mouch."

Otis chuckled from across the room and Sylvie turned to look at him, noticing him watching their conversation and suddenly remembering that Cruz had done the prank. The fact that she was the only one in the room who knew it was a joke made her smile.

"Read any of Dune yet?" He asked her, motioning to the book sitting on the cabinet beside her bed.

She shook her head at him. "No, I haven't had the time yet. I've been sleeping all night and most of the morning, apart from breakfast. I'll give it a read later though, don't worry. I do appreciate the sentiment, though."

Otis smiled at her and nodded. "Enjoy it when you do," he spoke. "If anything can distract you from what happened it's surely going to be Paul and Jessica and their time on Arrakis with the Fremen."

* * *

"How's the pain?" Dr. Rhodes asked her, standing beside her bed. Severide, Otis and Stella had left to head home and change out of their work clothes, grab some coffee and inform everyone on how Sylvie was doing before the others visited her.

Sylvie, who had attempted to get some sleep, had reluctantly ended up asking a nurse for more painkillers, the pain in her side having become almost unbearable. Dr. Rhodes had come in an hour after the painkillers had been given to her. She'd met him before today, luckily, and she knew he could be trusted to look after her best. Even if her doctor wasn't Will or Natalie like she'd hoped, Connor was the next best option.

"I had some meds about an hour ago, so it's better now. But before I took those it was bad." Sylvie explained. She hated taking painkillers because they made her drowsy, which was why they'd been a last resort - she didn't want to be asleep when the others visited. Or _if_ Antonio did.

Dr. Rhodes nodded at her. "Scale of 1 to 10, how bad was it before the meds?" He asked her, writing a few things onto the chart in front of him.

"Uh," Sylvie hesitated, hating trying to remember the pain. "I'd say almost a nine..." She cringed as she told him, knowing that if the pain didn't get better before Tuesday, she'd be staying in hospital for a few more days. She desperately wanted her own bed at home, whether that was at her own place, Antonio's or at Gabby's. Yet, she also knew that she had to be truthful to Connor. He was responsible for her care now.

He frowned and nodded at her again. "How much of yesterday can you remember? From when you were shot to now."

She looked down at her hands on the sheets and furrowed her eyebrows, recalling the fuzzy memories. "I remember getting shot and using the radio to call in, and the only thing I remember after that was waking up later that night and seeing Antonio Dawson. I can't remember the surgery or anything in-between when I blacked out and got to hospital," she nodded.

"Can you remember April and I coming in late last night to explain what happened to you?" Rhodes asked, crossing his arms across his chest as he put the board down beside him on the machines.

She frowned at him and shook her head. "It was probably the meds I had last night and my drowsiness. I was probably half asleep or something, right?"

Rhodes nodded at her, looking a little worried. "You were shot in the side yesterday afternoon and brought here to Med. While it wasn't a dangerous wound and it missed all the vital organs and important aspects that could have killed you. You were shot at a decent distance, meaning you were most likely incredibly lucky to not have been hit anywhere else. We performed a surgery yesterday afternoon to remove the bullet from your side, as there was no exit wound. We managed to stop any internal bleeding and remove the bullet successfully."

Sylvie nodded along with him as he explained everything that had happened, her head spinning at the thought. She tried to pull anything from her brain about what had happened, if the shooter had aimed a certain way to try not to kill her. She frowned, looking back up at Dr. Rhodes.

"Have you seen anyone from the police today?" She asked him, raising her eyebrows.

He shook his head. "No, I thought that Antonio Dawson was here last night to get a statement from you," he explained. "If you like, I can get Maggie to give the 21st a call? Maybe we can get some details about it all for you."

"That'd be really great, thank you, Dr. Rhodes," Sylvie replied. She needed to talk to Antonio, but she was decent friends with Ruzek and Jay as well, so, if need be, she'd talk to them too. But anyone familiar with her would do. She wanted clarification of this all - if they'd caught the shooter, if he'd confessed.

As Dr. Rhodes left the room and closed the door behind him, Sylvie covered her face with her hands, taking a deep breath to try and calm herself down. From Dr. Rhodes' words, she knew that it was pure luck that the shooter hadn't hit her anywhere important. She knew that there was no way he'd had aim that good when he shot her.

She was glad that she was alone in her room at that moment, letting the tears slide down her cheeks as she finally let herself go after the events of the past day. She didn't know where Antonio was. She didn't know if they'd caught the shooter.

Sylvie didn't think she'd ever cried so much, and silently hoped that falling asleep would get rid of any hints of the tears from her eyes before she got more visitors.

* * *

 _ **A/N: I would thoroughly recommend Dune to anyone looking for a good read. I studied it in Extension English, probably my favourite text after Blade Runner. Definitely worth the read, in my opinion!**_


	17. Chapter 17 - He's Looking At Life

**A/N: Here's to giving the shooter** ** _hell._**

* * *

"I'm only going to say it one more time," Antonio growled, his hands holding onto the fabric of the man's jacket tightly. "Why did you shoot that paramedic?"

The man in front of him shrugged, a smirk still resting effortlessly on his face. His dark hair was messed up and falling over his forehead, sweat rested on his brow from the throw around he'd had from both both Antonio and Voight. Yet, he still wouldn't budge. The fact he'd been found with a gun didn't give them enough evidence, and even though Erin and Jay were headed to Med right now to try and identify him with Sylvie, Antonio needed his confession.

Antonio, eyes flaming with anger, allowed his hand to come down on the mans cheek before angrily walking away, running his own fingers through his hair and messing it up. They'd been at this for at least 45 minutes and had no developments. Both he and Voight had been working at him, but nothing had worked. He didn't understand why - the man was clearly guilty, but he wouldn't say anything. For what reason, Antonio didn't know.

Behind him, Voight stood, leaning against the desk, a finger pointed at the man as he spoke. "We're going to give you one more chance before we lock you in that cage and force a confession out of you. What you've had so far? That's nothing compared to what's coming."

Antonio turned to watch as Voight attempted to interrogate him, still angry from not getting a confession. He hated not being at Med with Sylvie, and he didn't even know how she was doing - whether she was awake and fine, or if something bad had happened. He'd left his phone in the car, not wanting to be bothered while he was dealing with her shooter.

"Silence isn't going to help you, Jonathan," Voight spoke, the threat clear in his voice as he did so. "In fact, it's more than likely what'll get you killed."

With a breath, Antonio made his way back over to Voight, giving a quick nod at Voight before stepping behind the man and grabbing him, hoisting him from the chair and pushing him toward the cage. He wouldn't interfere with what Voight had planned for the man, in fact, he'd act like he hadn't seen a thing like he usually did. After handcuffing him to the wiring and letting Voight inside, Antonio closed the gate behind him and moved to stand at the bottom of the staircase, closing the door behind him.

It wasn't difficult to ignore the exclamations of pain from the room behind him.

* * *

"He caved," Voight spoke, joining Antonio in the staircase less than twenty minutes later. "Should be fine for the most part, bit of bruising here and there, but we got a confession and that's all that matters."

Antonio nodded at him, leaning up against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. "What'd we get on him?"

With a glance toward the door at the top of the staircase to make sure it was closed, Voight began to speak. "He said he'd been tracking Ambulance 61 since the day of the fire last month. He'd been working alongside Kyle Martin, the man who said he didn't know who the third accomplice was. He was the one who instructed Martin to destroy Brett's car. It seems that Jonathan there is the instigator of it all. Works with Tony from the fire and Kyle from the car, but he's good at covering his footprints. He's happy to keep most of the blame on the other two, which is what we found at the warehouse fire."

Antonio listened, taking in all of the information. If Jonathan had confessed, he could be charged with shooting a paramedic and attempting to kill and harm a worker for the city.

"When Tony and Kyle didn't do enough damage to Brett because of her interference at the fire, he took matters into his own hands."

"But why did they go after Brett? Did he tell you that? I was there that day, at the fire. All she wanted to do was get Tony and his wife to the hospital for a check-up. There was nothing out of the ordinary," Antonio stated.

"Remember that sexual assault record Tony has? He got out of it, just like Kyle did, with fake names and ids. Both Tony and Kyle are known to the police but they've managed to hide and keep themselves, and Jonathan, out of the public for years. Brett insisting on taking Tony to the hospital meant they'd be found again. That's why Jonathan went after her. For her interference in their hiding spot. Admitted to me that he already got the man that lit Tony's place on fire."

Antonio sighed, shaking his head at the news and at the fact that Jonathan, Tony and Kyle had gone after Sylvie for something so simple. "Anything else before I head back to the hospital?"

Voight nodded at him. "Just before I came in here, Jonathan admitted to me that he didn't aim specifically to miss vital organs when he shot Sylvie. He aimed to kill."

* * *

The hospital was quiet when Antonio returned half an hour later with Voight. They'd come to deliver the good news to Sylvie - that the threat was gone and that Jonathan had admitted to shooting her. After quickly greeting Sylvie, Antonio and Voight stood beside her bed, beginning to tell her everything that Voight had just said.

Antonio didn't miss the fact that her eyes were bloodshot and red as if she'd been crying. He regretted not being there for her when she woke up that morning as she spoke about some of the other guys from the firehouse visiting, but he felt lucky that she had them, if anyone.

"So, what sentences are they looking at? I mean... they'll have to go on trial, right? What will they get for doing all of those things?" Sylvie asked, half sitting up in the bed, the book _Dune_ open in her hands.

Voight, with a glance at Antonio, began to speak. "Jonathan, for the attempted murder of you, is looking at life. Kyle, for damaging your car so badly, could be looking for up to ten years, but, with the threat that was left in a box, he could be looking at more. Tony, he admitted that he was the one to leave the threatening note at your apartment, meaning he's looking at up to ten years as well."

Sylvie nodded at him, and Antonio could tell she was nervous as she did so. Yet, all the threats against her now were done. Jonathan, Kyle and Tony would most likely all be going to prison. Antonio hated the fact that he knew Sylvie would be called to testify against all three, and that Gabby and himself would most likely have to testify too.

The fact that Sylvie was safe now, though, filled him with happiness. He'd still have her come and stay with him when she was discharged, but now that there were no threats on her life, it made it all so much simpler.

Antonio wished that she'd never had to go through all of this - death threats, destroyed property, being shot. But he also knew that if Sylvie didn't go through any of that, if Antonio hadn't been at the scene that day when Tony was taken to hospital, that he would probably not have been dating Sylvie that very moment. He'd be here today, as a normal detective, worried for his sisters friend.

A knock on the door stopped his thoughts as he looked toward it and saw Gabby and Matt on the other side, both smiling at Sylvie. "Oh, hi, Hank, Tonio." Gabby greeted, stepping inside. "What's going on?"

Voight greeted the two of them back with a simple nod, but he stepped towards them. "I'll explain it to you outside for a moment. Let these two have a moment. We've had some pretty important revelations back at the precinct that you two need to know, especially considering your living situation."

He followed Gabby and Matt outside, closing the door behind him and leaving Antonio and Sylvie alone inside her room.

"You feeling okay?" Antonio asked, moving towards her and taking her hand once more. It felt like days since he'd held it, yet hadn't been that long.

She nodded at him. "Yeah, much better than before. Rhodes checked on me earlier, the pain was really bad earlier today, but it's better now, and they're weening me off of the meds slowly too, to make sure I'll be good enough without them when I'm discharged."

Antonio listened as she spoke, instantly feeling guilty that he hadn't been there this morning. "I shouldn't have left when you were sleeping, I'm sorry."

"No, don't worry about it. I had Gabby, and Cruz. Stella, Severide and Otis came by later as well. I've had a good day. And you're here now, it's okay. Plus, I'm completely capable of handling myself." She smiled.

He laughed lightly and nodded at her. "I suppose so," he smiled. "Hey, I was talking to Gabby before, and I was just wondering what your thoughts are on coming to stay with me after you get discharged? Just so you don't put too much stress on Gabby or anything, not that you're too stressful of a person. But I can help you get back on track just as much as Gabby can."

Sylvie thought for a moment before hesitantly nodding. "That sounds fine," she spoke. "But it's only temporary, right? I don't want us to move too quickly. With moving in and all that..."

Antonio nodded at her, looking down at her hand in his. "Absolutely. This is just temporary, so you're not alone when you're resting up and getting better."

"Then sure," she agreed. "As soon as I'm discharged. Rhodes told me that if I'm able to walk and feel okay without too many painkillers in my system by the next few days I should be good to head home."

He let out a breath at the fact that she'd said she'd come and stay with him. Even if it wasn't permanent, the fact that he'd be able to watch over her while she was recovering made him feel much better. Antonio smiled at her and gripped her hand tighter, happy that she was okay with staying with him. It would make him feel a whole lot better that there wasn't a threat on her life anymore, and even though he knew she'd hate not working for the next few weeks, it'd be better to have her recovering without all the stress of Gabby and Matt's relationship, Louie and work.

Antonio knew his job was stressful but he hoped she wouldn't mind too much. What mattered to him mostly was caring for her after everything that had happened. She deserved his full attention, and now that her shooter was looking at life in prison, he knew that she'd get it. Even if he hadn't been there earlier today when she was in pain. He would be from now on.

* * *

 _Five days later._

"Well, I certainly expected that when I'd be coming here again it'd be for a different reason," Sylvie sighed, stepping into Antonio's apartment, and instantly blushing as she realised what she said.

Antonio chuckled behind her and put her bags down next to the couch. "You're here to recover," he smirked. "Don't forget that."

Over the past few days, Sylvie had recovered in hospital extremely well. She'd had plenty of visitors, and two days ago, Rhodes had cleared her to go home, yet he'd kept her in for an extra day and a half to make sure he was right. Late last night, he realised she was completely fine and decided to send her home.

For now, her home was with Antonio. Even if they weren't that far into their relationship and didn't want to rush things too much, Antonio had to be with her. He didn't like the idea of her staying at her own apartment and dealing with the stress of recovering from a gunshot wound on her own.

"I'm not going to push anything," Antonio said as he led her into the spare bedroom. "So, I've made up the bottom of the bunk in here, which I usually leave to the kids. It's a double, and you've slept there before, so you should be comfortable. Considering the kids won't be here until Christmas..."

Sylvie nodded at him and smiled, turning around. "It's great, really, Antonio. Thank you. I'm glad to not be a burden on Gabby and Matt anymore. Plus, it's really sweet that you're looking after Gabby like that, by taking me on. Thank you."

"Absolutely," Antonio replied, heading back into the main living area of the apartment. "Now, if you take a seat and relax on that couch, I'll get started on making us breakfast. Know any good blueberry pancake recipes?"


	18. Chapter 18 - I'm Still Here

**A/N: Thank you all** ** _so_** **much for almost 100 reviews! So crazy that so many of you have enjoyed this story so far. And we're only at Chapter 18!**

* * *

 _Sylvie's POV_

"I'm sick of having nothing to do, Antonio," Sylvie groaned as she lay on the couch, remote in hand and a half empty plate of nachos on the coffee table. "I want to work again. How long has it been? When can I go back?"

It had been almost a week since Antonio and Sylvie started their temporary living situation. Sylvie didn't mind living with him - mostly because he was so caring towards her - but she missed work. She missed having things to do.

She couldn't help but feel like a burden to Antonio. He was always waiting on her, even when he was at work, he was calling whenever he wasn't working on a case, making sure she was okay. Technically, there was only a week left until she was to be cleared to head back to work, and she'd been weening herself off of all the painkillers she'd been taking on a regular basis.

But nothing could fill the void where work was supposed to be.

Sadly, not even Antonio.

She'd had a few visitors over the past week, both people from Firehouse 51 and from the Intelligence Unit, plus Kim. But she missed being busy. She missed being able to go to Molly's after work. And there was so much she had to do - she needed to go back to her own apartment, she needed to find a new car. But because of the wound in her side, actually doing any of that was impossible.

"I know, baby," Antonio sighed, sitting down on the edge of the couch beside her. He'd only come home for an hour and a half for lunch, considering it was a weekday and didn't get too much time off, especially when they were working on closing up the case with Sylvie. "You can go back next Monday if you're cleared by Rhodes, you know that. You've got a check-up this afternoon with him, and Gabby is going to come around and take you for that."

Every day since she'd been living with Antonio, Sylvie had said at least twice that she was lucky to have Gabby. She'd been checking up on her even more often than Antonio had, but Sylvie had yet to have the conversation with her and tell her that everything that happened wasn't her fault.

As she pushed herself up off the couch, she made a mental note to do that when Gabby came around in a few hours. Antonio put a hand on her back, pulling her gently toward him and sighing. Sylvie knew he felt bad for her. She could tell that he wanted her back and ready to go to work again just as much as she wanted.

"Have you heard anything? About the trials?" Sylvie asked, resting her head on Antonio's shoulder. He'd been pretty quiet about it lately, and she supposed it was just because he didn't want to stress her out about it all. Considering that the recovery from a gunshot wound was stressful enough.

Antonio nodded down at her, his hand moving to hold onto hers. "Yeah, just this morning actually. Tony and Kyle will be in court this Saturday, Jonathan next Thursday. Peter Stone over at the States Attorney's Office is going to be working Jonathan's. We, uh, you, Gabby and myself - we've been asked to testify against him."

With a groan, Sylvie moved off of Antonio's shoulder and turned to look at him. "I have to testify," she muttered. Beside her, Antonio nodded and frowned.

"Both Kyle and Tony have already confessed, and since we found their prints and I was at the scene with Tony, they're just going to be sentenced straight away. Jonathan's a little trickier. Even though he's confessed to Voight, we're needed to testify against him. Since you were the one shot, Gabby was at the scene and I found you... well, that says it all."

Sylvie sighed and leant her face into her hands, shaking her head. She'd known all of this wasn't over, but the idea that she'd have to see the man that shot her in a courtroom made her feel sick.

Antonio rubbed her back and took a deep breath at seeing how stressed she was over all this. He knew he had to tell her, but he hated doing it.

"So... if I get cleared, I go back to work Monday, yet I have to leave again to testify on Thursday? What do I have to say?" Sylvie said, sitting back up to look at Antonio again.

He frowned at her and pulled her in close again. "There's no need to worry about that now. You'll get asked to explain what happened in relation to Jonathan and the shooting, and that's all. Don't stress yourself out over all this, Sylvie. It isn't worth it, believe me. You've been through enough."

Sylvie agreed with him and nodded. She felt like those moments with Antonio just after Tony had refused to get into the ambo were years ago. The reality that it was almost two months ago just stressed her out even more. Her eyes moved to her phone on the table and she leant forward to pick it up, unlocking it to check the time. It was just after one, and Gabby wasn't going to be here to pick her up until four. Connor had agreed to meet with her at four-thirty.

She looked up at Antonio and moved to lay back down on the couch, making sure not to touch or aggravate her side as she did so. Even if she wasn't in constant pain, just moving the wrong way or hitting it on sideways caused the same amount as it had back in hospital. "I'm just going to nap for a while, okay?" She sighed, handing Antonio her phone.

He nodded back at her before leaning in and pressing a soft kiss to her lips. "Absolutely, baby. Sleep well, okay. I'll set an alarm for quarter to four for you," he muttered, working on setting an alarm for her. "Just relax. Don't stress yourself out."

After Antonio sat her phone back on the coffee table, Sylvie watched as he stood up and walked back into the kitchen, leaving her to sleep off her stress.

* * *

Sylvie had woken up to the sounds of her alarm just after a quarter to four, and, after getting dressed and freshening up, had joined Gabby in her car for the trip to Med.

It was silent for the first minute or two of the drive, and Sylvie sighed as she thought over what she was going to say to Gabby about this entire ordeal. With a deep breath, Sylvie turned to look at Gabby and spoke.

"It's not your fault, you know? Any of this. Please don't beat yourself up about it, Gabby." Sylvie said, fiddling with her hands as she did so.

Gabby stayed silent for a moment before letting out a breath. "Even if you say that, Brett, I can't help but feel like it is. I shouldn't have let you go alone to get that gurney. I should have known better than to do that."

Sylvie shook her head at her quickly. "No, you were just doing your job, Gabby! You needed to look after that patient and I needed to get the gurney. That patient was our first priority, not whether or not I was capable enough of grabbing that gurney on my own."

She hated that Gabby was blaming all of this on herself, and she hated even more that it seemed anything she said would be ignored. That as many times as she told Gabby it wasn't her that was to blame, it wouldn't work to sway her.

"Gabby, listen to me," Sylvie began, her voice stronger and harder than it had been for their entire conversation so far. " _None_ of this is your fault. You were doing your job just as I was doing mine. And hey, I'm sitting here today, am I not? I'm in the car with you to go and get checked up for the second last time by a doctor. This whole ordeal is as good as over, and I'm _alive,_ Gabby. I'm living and I'm breathing, and that's all thanks to your brother. If he hadn't found me outside that ambo and got me in another one, I wouldn't be here right now. But he did, and I'm so grateful for that."

Sylvie took a deep breath, glancing quickly outside to see where they were before turning back to Gabby. "Gabriela Dawson, you are my best friend. You have been since my first day here in Chicago and you still are now. So, please, do me the honour of not blaming yourself for something that couldn't be helped. It was going to happen at some point anyway, and now that it has, and I'm alive... we're fine. Just, please, Gabby. Please don't blame yourself."

Beside her, Gabby sighed, her hands tight on the wheel as she turned the corner into the carpark at Med. As she parked the car, she adjusted position in her seat and turned to face Sylvie, her eyes watering at trying to keep in tears.

"I thought you were going to die, Sylvie," Gabby whispered, her voice quiet in Sylvie's ears. Sylvie's face dropped and she reached across the seats to grab her hand. "I've already lost one partner, and I didn't want to lose another."

She hadn't met Shay, but she'd heard alot about her. Yet now, Sylvie understood why Gabby was so scared about what happened to Sylvie. She knew that Gabby had blamed herself for Shay's death. She couldn't help but blame herself for Sylvie as well.

With a deep breath, Sylvie moved and opened the car door, slowly getting out and walking around to Gabby's side and pulling it open. Gabby slowly got out of her own door and before she had a chance to grab her bag and head into Med, Sylvie pulled her into a gentle hug.

"I'm still here," Sylvie whispered, holding Gabby tight.

She could tell that Gabby had finally let the tears start to fall as she started to shake and she closed her eyes, her grip around her still tight. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm telling you that."

* * *

"Everything seems to be in order, Sylvie," Rhodes spoke, letting Sylvie move her shirt back over the wound. He moved to stand in front of her and smiled. "Your wound is healing well. By next Monday, it should be healed even more. It'll leave a scar, of course, but by the looks of it, you'll be back at work in no time."

Sylvie grinned at him, turning to check on Gabby who was stood next to Rhodes, a smile on her face as well. "How long, do you think?"

Rhode shrugged. "Monday, or possibly Tuesday. If you come in Sunday night I'll check you over again and see if you're ready to work. But from today, I can almost completely say you'll be back and swinging on Monday."

He moved to grab her chart and began to fill it out. "Just make sure you take everything slow this next week. You've done well on that so far, just don't do anything too intensive for at least the next two to four weeks, just to make sure. No more climbing into cars for Kelly Severide like I heard about."

Sylvie let out a laugh and nodded at Rhodes. "You got it, Connor," she smiled, standing up and grabbing her handbag from Gabby. "See you on Sunday, I suppose. Have a good week, Connor."

"And you, Sylvie," Connor nodded, leaving the room and heading to his next patient.

Gabby and Sylvie made their way back outside the hospital and got back into the car. As Gabby pulled away from the hospital, Sylvie grabbed her phone and sent a text to Antonio.

 _Sylvie Brett:_ Given the all good by Rhodes! Should be back and good for our breakfast dates at that diner by next Monday. Yet, I am considering just allowing you to continue cooking me those beautiful blueberry pancakes... ;) X

As they pulled up outside Antonio's apartment, her phone buzzed, and she checked the message quickly before getting out and heading upstairs.

 _Antonio Dawson:_ You've turned me over to the dark side... one day I was an eggs benedict man. Now, I'm all for these blueberry pancakes. More than happy to keep cooking for you any day. XX


	19. Chapter 19 - I Really Like You

**A/N: How good was that sneak peak at Chicago Fire 5x06 we got? I think all of the Brettonio fans out there simultaneously freaked out. I mean, I know I did. I'm so looking forward to what's in store for this couple on the show... in the meantime,** ** _my_** **version of Brettonio are being cute and cooking together. So, I mean... Brettonio's good all round! I've also seen some of you guys recommending my fic on twitter, so thank you! It makes me grin every time! Enjoy 19.**

* * *

"No, you don't do it like that, let me," Sylvie laughed, taking the spatula from Antonio and shuffling the beans and greens around the frying pan. "Watch and learn, Antonio Dawson, watch and learn."

He chuckled from behind her and nodded, his arms crossed over his chest, a beer in his left hand. It had been two days since Sylvie got the all clear from Dr. Rhodes about her injury, and while she still had a few days till her final check-up, she was trying to get herself back on track beforehand.

After Antonio had turned up home after work, she'd gotten ready and decided to help him cook some chicken stir fry. He'd liked it alot the last time she'd cooked it for him, and now, they were doing it together. Or trying to.

Sylvie was close to just telling Antonio to stick to the pancakes he made, but she wanted to do her best to work with him, so, even if she was being frantic and taking over, at least he was helping in _some_ aspects of the cooking of their dinner. He'd had a tough day at work and Sylvie knew, so, as soon as she could, she'd decided upon their dinner. Chicken stir-fry could make anyone feel better.

"So, Sylvie Brett, what _can_ I do in this preparation of our dinner? Peel some potatoes? Cut up some chicken? Or am I just here to watch?" He smirked, taking a sip of his beer and leaning against the counter.

She looked up at him and grinned as she continued to stir the beans in the pan. "I'm sorry I'm sort of taking over all of this," she said, sheepishly. "You can cut up some carrots if you'd like? I add them into the stir fry. Two carrots should be enough."

Antonio nodded at her and set down his beer, heading to the fridge to grab some of the carrots. As he turned around, he spotted Sylvie, his beer in her hand as she took a sip. He raised his eyebrows and smirked at her, walking towards her.

"And who said you could drink my beer, huh?" He joked, setting the carrots down on the cutting board.

Sylvie bit her lip and looked up at him. "I just wanted some, don't mind me," she spoke, a smile obviously playing on her lips.

Without a second thought, Antonio leant down and pressed his lips onto hers, his hands finding her waist, being wary of her side which was still sore from the gunshot wound.

Sylvie kissed him back instantly, letting the spatula drop onto the side of the pan as her hands found his neck, holding him close. The butterflies were still flying around in her stomach whenever Antonio kissed her, and she found herself wanting more than just to kiss him in that moment.

Though, a second later, Antonio reluctantly pulled away from her, a smile rising to his face. "Don't let that stir fry burn, baby," he chuckled, stepping back and beginning to cut up the carrots.

Sylvie blushed as she turned back to the pan and picked up the spatula once more, beginning to finish cooking off the beans. That had been the most passionate kiss of theirs ever since their relationship had begun, and at the thought that Sylvie had wanted more than to just kiss him, her face reddened even more. She shook the thought from her head and continued to stir the beans before turning off the stove and moving to grab some chicken for the stir-fry.

* * *

Less than an hour later, Antonio and Sylvie sat at the table both eating their stir-fry. Sylvie smiled at the fact that it was her thought to make it. Antonio obviously liked it just as much as she did, and she was glad.

The fact that Sylvie was able to please him so much in the smallest of ways made her stomach do backflips. Harrison had never been like Antonio. Sure, she'd loved him. She really had. But it was different with Antonio. It felt so different. It felt much more mature and so much more real with him.

She wasn't sure what made it that way for her, but it was definitely something. The fact that he seemed to be feeling the same way around her made her smile. It wasn't love. Not yet, anyway. Sylvie was sure that by surrounding herself with more of tonight, it could surely turn into it at some point. But right now, she was content with the way things were. It was enough for her.

In front of her, Antonio cleared his throat and took a sip of his beer before continuing to eat. The action shook the thoughts from Sylvie's mind, and she realised that she'd been paused, fork in midair, for the entire time she was thinking. She quickly sat the fork down on her plate again and excused herself to the bathroom, leaning down on the sink and taking a deep breath.

The way she was feeling for Antonio scared her. She wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because they were moving too fast. Moving faster than she'd moved in any relationship ever. But she didn't know. Everything had been fine until now. Antonio was good for her, she was sure of that. Splashing some water in her face, she flushed the toilet to make it seem like she'd actually been doing something in the bathroom and wiped the water off of her face before heading back out to the kitchen and taking a seat across from Antonio again.

He looked up at her, confusion and worry filling his face. "You okay?" He asked her, putting his fork down on his now empty plate.

Sylvie nodded up at him and put on a smile before finishing off her own stir-fry and taking her plate up to the kitchen. Antonio follower her, placing his own plate in the sink and quickly grabbing Sylvie's hand before she could leave again.

"Hey, baby. Come on, tell me. If something's worrying you, I want to know. Is it your side? Is it hurting again?" He asked, worry easily noticed in his voice.

She shook her head at him and continued to smile. "Really, Antonio, I'm fine. I needed to use the bathroom, what's wrong with that?" She asked, raising her eyebrows.

Antonio chuckled at her and shrugged. "If you're sure. Hey, I'm gonna go take a quick shower, but then I'll be out. Occupy yourself." He smiled, kissing her gently and walking off to the bathroom.

* * *

Half an hour later, Antonio emerged from the bathroom, dressed in his pyjamas, his hair still damp and drooping over his forehead. Sylvie was sat down on the couch, curled up as much as she could be without hurting her side. Her eyes were glued to the television as she watched the normal crappy late night tv that she loved to watch, even if it was bad.

As Antonio spotted her, he smiled, making his way over to her and sitting down beside her on the couch, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her into him. "How you feeling?" He asked, his hand rubbing her arm to comfort her.

She smiled at him and nodded. "I'm good, tired but good."

"That's good, baby. What are you watching?" He asked her, his eyes drifting to the television but not recognising what was on the screen.

Sylvie shrugged at him. "Good question," she chuckled. "I'm not actually too sure of the name of it. But it's good. I'm enjoying myself. Occupying myself, as you said I should."

He nodded back at her, happy to just be relaxing on the couch with his girlfriend, happy to be settling down for the night. But, as he was about to fully relax, Sylvie spoke.

"I'm scared," she said, suddenly.

Antonio looked to her, worried. "Scared about what, Sylvie?"

Sylvie turned her body to face his and sighed as she crossed her legs and took his hands in hers. "I'm scared this isn't going to work out, Antonio. None of my past romances have... Harrison, Cruz, even Sean. I thought some of those were going to be forever. And now that I've got you... I'm scared I'm going to lose you too. You and I, we've been through so much already. What if something happens to change that?"

"Baby, nothing's going to change that," Antonio frowned, moving to face her as well. "I thought what I had with Laura was forever too, but look where I am now. I'm with you. And even though this is early days, I've got a good feeling about this. What we've been through? It only makes us stronger, Sylvie. It will continue to only make us stronger."

She bit her lip, looking down at their hands. "I really like you," she whispered.

Antonio, smiling, lifted a hand to her chin, raising her face. He looked at her deeply before speaking himself. "I really like you too."

Sylvie couldn't help but smile as she leant forward and kissed him softly, savouring the feeling. With Antonio's reassurance, she couldn't help but feel silly about feeling that way. This was all still new, but Antonio liked her just as much as she liked him. Everything was going to be okay.

* * *

Antonio looked up at the clock on the wall, sighing as he realised it was a quarter past eleven. His eyes moved down to Sylvie, curled up on the couch beside him, her head on his lap. She'd fallen asleep just after 10:30, having been tired after the stress of their evening.

He carefully moved from under her head before stepping in front of her and picking her up in his arms. As he made his way to the spare bedroom he stopped, thinking for a moment. After tonight, it didn't feel right to let her sleep alone in a bed that wasn't rightfully hers. Without a second thought, he moved toward his bedroom, laying her down under the covers and pulling them back up over her as he moved to his own side of the bed before pulling off his shirt and climbing in beside her.

Having her beside him felt right.


	20. Chapter 20 - Let Me Prove I Am

**A/N: I'm sorry for less updates lately! I'm trying to get as many up as possible but I've been so busy. I'm going to try and gift you with this chapter, though. I think this one's a good one.**

* * *

"Antonio, I feel like I could take on the world today, you know that?" Sylvie grins, placing the empty plate that once held blueberry pancakes into the sink. "I feel great, my side is barely hurting anymore, and in half an hour I have my final checkup with Rhodes."

Antonio grinned and placed his own plate on top of hers in the sink. "Well, you look great too. I mean, if that means anything right now," He chuckled at her.

Truthfully, Antonio was excited for Sylvie to get back to work. She'd been working on recovering so much lately and he knew that she deserved to get a good result from Rhodes today and head back to work tomorrow morning. While that meant Antonio wouldn't see her as much because she'd be moving out soon, he was still happy that she was happy to be heading back to work.

Antonio hadn't been called in today, and he was glad that he'd been able to spend the whole day with Sylvie. It was obviously her idea to have blueberry pancakes for dinner, and Antonio hadn't argued with her. They'd had an early meal so that they could head to Med afterwards.

Sylvie grinned at him and shrugged. "Hmm, maybe a little bit," she chuckled, pecking his lips softly and moving out of the kitchen to go and get ready to head to Med. It had been a long week and Sylvie was ready to head back to work.

The time flew by quickly and in no time, Antonio was pulling up to Med and opening the car door for Sylvie. He kept his hand on her back as they walked through Med and found Rhodes, who smiled happily at them as he saw them and sent them into one of the spare rooms while he finished up with a patient.

Luckily, the hospital wasn't too busy which meant that there was plenty of free time for them to wait. Sylvie didn't feel like she was hogging a bed for someone else, and as soon as Rhodes was finished, he'd joined Sylvie and Antonio, still smiling and friendly.

"How are you feeling today?" Rhodes asked, rubbing his hands together with the sanitizer. "You definitely look healthier."

Sylvie nodded at him. "I feel it, too. It's good, I'm feeling really good," she spoke, completely truthfully.

"Let's take a look, then," Rhodes smiled, stepping towards Sylvie. She'd worn a loose shirt again today so that it was easier for Rhodes to look at her side. After lifting it up a little, she sent a reassuring smile to Antonio before focusing on Rhodes again.

After a few moments, Rhodes stood back up. "Everything looks in order. Has it been painful lately?" He asked, crossing his arms across his chest.

She shook her head. "No, it hasn't. I've still been on painkillers, but it's bearable even when they're wearing off before bed."

Rhodes smiled at her and nodded again. "Well, everything's looking good then. You're cleared for work again tomorrow. But don't do too much to aggravate it just in case. Try and steer clear of anything too straining for at least another week."

Sylvie couldn't keep the smile off of her face as Rhodes spoke. "I've been waiting for those words ever since I got shot," she laughed, the smile taking over her whole face. "Thank you so much, Dr. Rhodes. Really, you've been a great doctor."

He shrugged at her. "No worries, Sylvie. If you have any problems, don't hesitate to call. I've just got to fill in this paperwork but enjoy yourself back at work tomorrow. You've earned it."

* * *

"SYLVIE BRETT!" Cruz yelled, jumping up from his chair in the kitchen and running to Sylvie, wrapping his arms around her and picking her up in a gentle hug.

Sylvie couldn't help but laugh as he did so, wrapping her arms around him as well. "Don't break me yet, Cruz! Let me at least go on one call!"

He grinned as he set her down again. "Ah, okay. One call is good, I suppose. But what do you want for breakfast? I mean, I'm not a chef but I do make a mean scrambled eggs."

"Whip some up for me, then, huh?" She chuckled, following him into the kitchen and taking a seat at one of the tables. Antonio had been called in before Sylvie went to work with the case they were working on, so he hadn't been able to cook her pancakes again and she didn't feel right eating them without him now anyway.

The firehouse was quiet but Sylvie had missed it anyway. Everyone was still turning up on shift and she'd been a bit early because Antonio wasn't home anymore. But she smiled as she watched Cruz working in the kitchen, working on her scrambled eggs. She'd eaten them before when they were dating, and Cruz was right. They were really, really good. Not quite blueberry pancake good, but good none the less.

Sylvie grabbed the newspaper on the table in front of her and flipped it open, scanning to see if she found anything interesting. She paused and frowned as she read the title of one article.

 ** _Chicago paramedics attempted murderers sentenced to jail._**

She continued to read, intrigued.

 _Only two and a half weeks ago, news of Firehouse 51's Sylvie Brett's shooting hit news stations all over Chicago. Now, two and a half weeks later, two of those involved in her shooting have been sentenced to jail. Tony Wilson, a victim of a house fire almost two months ago, and an accomplice in her shooting was, on Saturday, sentenced to ten years in prison. Following this sentencing, a second accomplice, Kyle Martin, was sentenced to fifteen years in prison. This Thursday, a third trial will take place to determine the fate of the third and most prominent accomplice. -_

Sylvie frowned as she read the words and closed the paper, immediately wishing she'd remembered to ask Antonio about it all on Sunday, and cursing herself that she'd forgotten. Whenever she had a spare moment, she'd call him and ask him about it, she decided.

"Sylvie, hey!' Gabby's voice rang through the firehouse and Sylvie looked up and smiled to see Gabby hurrying towards her. She wrapped her arms around her quickly and took a seat across from her. "How you feeling?"

"I'm good, really. Just happy to be back at work. It's been too long away from here, you know?" She meant every word she said. Just as Gabby was about to speak, Cruz appeared from beside her, placing the plate of scrambled eggs in front of her.

"For you, my lady," he grinned. Sylvie thanked him and began to eat. She'd been right. These eggs were _incredible._ Gabby chuckled as Cruz walked away and sat down on another table. She turned and raised her eyes at Sylvie.

"Hey, he offered, and I accepted. What else am I supposed to do?"

* * *

The day had been going slowly until they finally got their first call of the shift just after 12:00pm. Sylvie and Gabby had ran to the ambo, and Gabby hadn't gotten up Sylvie for being a little slower than usual, as she didn't want to run so fast she hurt her side again. She was not going to get put off work again barely a few hours into her first shift back.

They'd been called to a house in the middle of Chicago where there was a small kitchen fire. It wasn't too intense, and Sylvie was grateful. Just as she went to pull open the ambulance door to leave the scene, a voice behind her yelled.

"HELP! Over here, please help! My daughter, she's sick!" Sylvie frowned and turned around to see a man, in his late thirties, blood covering his hands.

She, without thinking, hurried after him, a hand holding her side. "Gabby, grab the gurney!" She called behind her, running into the man's house and gasping as she saw his daughter lying at the bottom of the stairs, blood covering her face.

"What happened, sir?" Sylvie asked, falling to her knees beside the girl and checking for a pulse. "She fall down the stairs?"

Gabby rolled in the gurney beside her and pulled the backboard down. "We need to get her to hospital right now, sir. Tell us what happened."

"I don't know! I was watching TV and I heard a crash and I ran in and she was bleeding down here at the stairs. Please, help her! She's only eleven." He pleaded.

"Follow us, sir," Sylvie nodded, helping Gabby place the girl onto the gurney and moving to wheel her out of the house and to the ambo. The guys on Truck were still at the house, and a few ran over to help Sylvie and Gabby place her into the ambo.

"You wanna drive?" Gabby asked Sylvie, who only nodded at her as she hurried to the front of the ambo and hopped in. She didn't think she'd be able to cope just yet riding along in the back. If she fell or lost balance while Gabby was driving, she didn't know what would happen.

As soon as Gabby let her know they were good to go, Sylvie hurried to Med, desperately wanting to save this little girl. As her father had said, she was only eleven.

She pulled up outside the emergency bay and moved to get out of the ambo, pulling open the doors and helping the emergency workers and Gabby get her out of the ambo.

Sylvie held onto the bed as she pushed the gurney inside, seeing Will and Ethan on the other side. "Eleven-year old girl, she's fallen down the stairs, possible internal bleeding," Sylvie spoke, moving toward the doors.

Just as she was about to push the girl inside, Sylvie felt a stab of pain in her side as she brushed up against the door. In shock, she let go of the bed and gasped, her hand going to her side. Gabby hurried up to her.

"Shit, Sylvie? You okay?" Gabby asked, a hand on Sylvie's shoulder as she led her further inside.

Sylvie nodded at her. "Yeah, I'm good," she spoke, standing up straighter and removing her hand from her side. "Just ran into the door a little, but I'm okay. It's nothing!" She assured her.

Gabby frowned at her. "You, come with me. Maggie, we'll fill in the report in a minute. I'm taking her to Rhodes."

* * *

"I should have known that you should have stayed off a few more days," Antonio spoke, the anger clear in his voice as he slammed the beer down on the counter. "You could have been hurt even more, Sylvie. If you'd hit that door any harder..."

Sylvie frowned at him, her head in her hands as she leant on the table. "Gabby shouldn't have told you. I'm fine, Antonio. Honestly. Rhodes checked it out and he found nothing wrong. It was just the shock of hitting the door and reacting too quickly. I'm fine. Rhodes still cleared me for duty."

He moved over to sit on the chair beside her, his eyebrows furrowed as he spoke. "Sylvie, baby. I don't want you going back to work if you're going to get hurt again," he cringed as he realised how he sounded. "I don't mean it like that. I mean, I want you to wait a few more days, just until you're properly recovered. I don't want another call from Gabby saying you got hurt on the job again. I really don't like those calls."

"No, Antonio. I'm not doing that, okay?" She sighed. "I don't want to just run when things get hard. Not anymore."

Antonio stood up and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. He didn't want to come off as that guy. But he knew that he wanted her to stay safe. He still didn't think she was completely ready for such hard work yet.

Sylvie stood up, pouting as she did so, annoyed at how Antonio was acting. She didn't want him to become another Harrison. "Listen to me, Antonio. Listen to me. You don't think I'm fit enough to work yet? Let me prove to you that I am."

Without thinking, Sylvie leant up and pressed her lips to his. Even if she'd imagined this moment to be more romantic than it was right now, Sylvie knew she wanted this.

Antonio kissed her back instantly, his hands finding her waist as he gently pulled her toward him. He pulled away reluctantly for a moment. "Are you sure, baby?" He muttered. At her nod, he pressed his lips to hers once more.

Sylvie couldn't keep the smile off of her face as he walked them to his bedroom without breaking the kiss. Even if she hadn't imagined it this way, it didn't matter to her anymore.

Her hands found the bottom of Antonio's shirt and she broke the kiss for only a moment to pull it up and over his head. Just before they fell back onto the bed, hers joined his own on the floor, their kiss barely breaking as they took their relationship to the next step.


	21. Chapter 21 - Secret Keeping

**A/N: A double update, you say? Yes, it is. I've not updated in a little while. So, you deserve two updates. I'll try and get the next chapter up on Saturday/Sunday. This chapter is one of my favourites, I think. ENJOY!**

* * *

On Wednesday, Sylvie was happy to go back to work. Even if Antonio hadn't wanted her to go, simply because he was nervous for her. She felt like she hadn't been at work in ages, even if she'd only been off shift for a day. She'd woken up early this morning, still in Antonio's bed, yet he'd disappeared.

She found a note he'd left on the counter for her, and even though Antonio didn't seem like the most thoughtful person on the outside, the note proved that he was. He'd written that he got called into work early again, and that he was incredibly sorry to have to leave her, especially after last night.

As Sylvie dressed in her uniform, she couldn't get the thoughts of last night out of her head. With her condition, and the slight problem in having a gunshot wound, Sylvie had thought that it would be weeks or even months until she reached that level of intimacy with Antonio. She was happily surprised.

On the Saturday before she headed back to work, she'd gone out with Gabby to buy a new car. It was helpful to have a car again, now. She didn't have to rely on Antonio driving her everywhere. And, it meant he could go into work early without worrying about dropping her off at the firehouse.

Cruz had cooked himself, Gabby, Matt and Sylvie scrambled eggs again, as the others in the house were busy elsewhere. Sylvie, who had always thought it anyway, found herself incredibly thankful to have Cruz in her life. She'd worried, when they broke up, that he'd not want to be friends with her anymore, but she was glad they were. There was no one for Antonio to worry about in terms of exes.

She always appreciated how kind Cruz was to Antonio, and vice versa. She knew that Antonio appreciated the people at the firehouse, too. And even if Sylvie had dated Cruz, she knew that Antonio liked the fact that Cruz was still so caring. He'd always have her back, no matter what, and that comforted both Antonio and Sylvie herself.

Sylvie, just after lunch that day, found herself curled up on the couch, _Dune_ in hand. They had a minor call just after ten, but they were back at the firehouse now and there hadn't been anything since. So, Sylvie had grabbed the copy of _Dune_ that Otis had leant her in the hospital and started to reread it. She didn't know how many times she'd read it, but in the last two weeks alone, she'd read it twice. It was one of her favourite series' and one of the only books Antonio had in his apartment, thanks to her.

Just as she finished a chapter, she looked up to see Cruz sitting in front of her on the coffee table. With a smile, Sylvie put her bookmark inside of _Dune_ and closed it, letting it rest on her lap. "Hey, Cruz. What's up?" She asked, adjusting to sit more comfortably to talk, not wanting to seem like she didn't want to talk.

"What are you doing tomorrow night? Tomorrow is Thursday, right?" Cruz asked, knotting his hands together and leaning forward a little. Sylvie noticed that he looked a little nervous, yet she decided not to bring it up.

Before she spoke, Sylvie hesitated, thinking exactly about what her plans were tomorrow. "Uh," she muttered, concentrating. "Antonio, Gabby and I have to testify against Jonathan tomorrow morning, but that'll be done by one. As far as I can remember, I have no plans for tomorrow night. Antonio and I are probably just hanging out at home. What are you asking for?"

Cruz shrugged at her and stood up, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Nothing important," he said, nonchalantly. "I'll catch up with you later."

As Cruz walked away, Sylvie frowned, turning to watch him as he disappeared into the conference room. She furrowed her eyebrows and turned back to her book. "Weird," she muttered, shaking her head, opening her book back up again. Just as she was about to start reading again, she spotted Otis walking into the room and quickly looked up to catch his attention. "Hey, Otis! Do you know what's going on with Cruz?"

She moved to stand up from the couch, closing the book again and heading over to him, the book still in one of her hands. "He's been acting really weird. Is there something wrong that I don't know about?"

Otis looked at her, eyebrows raised, before shaking his head. "No, nothing I can think of. I can ask him if you'd like? But he was fine last night - I was with him and Stella at Molly's."

Sylvie frowned, but nodded at him. "That'd be really helpful, thank you, Otis," she smiled, heading back to the couch and sitting back down in it. "Thank you for the book, as well. I'll give it back when I finish rereading it again."

As Otis went to walk into the conference room, Sylvie caught him shrug. "Take your time," he spoke, closing the door behind him and disappearing. Sylvie nodded again, still completely confused, yet she opened up the book again and continued reading. A smile rose to her face as she realised her favourite part was only a chapter away.

* * *

Sylvie was glad when the trial was over. Even though she had Antonio and Gabby right there with her, the idea of sitting there and staring at the man that had stood in front of her and fired a bullet into her side in an attempt to kill her terrified her. It hadn't taken too long, though, luckily.

And while seeing Jonathan in the flesh after all of this was just as terrifying as she'd thought it would be, it helped that she had Gabby and Antonio. She always had one of them beside her, apart from when she was on the stand. But it still helped considering they were just a few steps away from her, and that when she answered all the questions from the lawyer, she could walk back over to them and sit with them again.

It had gone quicker than she thought it would, and she was glad. While testifying against the man that shot her was not the ideal way to spend her Thursday morning, Antonio and Gabby had taken her out to grab some lunch afterwards, ending up in the three of them sitting in a park near Antonio's apartment and eating burgers.

Just after three, Gabby had left the two of them to go back home to Matt and Louie. While the trial had started half an hour later than expected, it hadn't ended until almost two o'clock. Sylvie was tired, and she really wanted to sleep, but she knew that she'd have to hold out for a few more hours before she finally could.

Antonio had told her earlier that morning, before the trial, that he was going to take her to Molly's tonight. She hadn't been there since before she got shot, and he wanted to treat her to a few drinks and some good company. While she'd groaned about it that morning, wanting to stay in and watch movies with Antonio, the idea had grown on her through the day. After the stress of the day, it was exactly what she needed.

Just after seven, and after Antonio convincing her to go out for drinks in something better than a pair of old jeans and a t-shirt, the two of them finally left the apartment and headed to Molly's. Sylvie felt like there was something that Antonio wasn't telling her, but she kept it to herself, figuring that if it was something really important, he'd tell her.

He pulled up just outside Molly's, and, again, opened the car door for her. She couldn't help the butterflies in her stomach as he took her hand and led her into Molly's. It was quieter than normal, and Sylvie was incredibly confused as Antonio opened the door for her and led her inside, to a completely dark and quiet bar.

Before she could register what was happening, the lights turned on suddenly and she spotted Gabby, Cruz, Otis, Herrmann and everyone from Firehouse 51, her friends from Chicago Med and the police department. Her hand flew to her mouth in surprise. They'd thrown her a surprise party!

She didn't even notice as Antonio's hand let go of hers and he let her to be greeted and pulled into a group of hugs from her friends. Will, Kim, Gabby, and finally, Cruz. He had a large grin on his face and Sylvie turned to him, laughing. "Was this your doing?" She asked him, raising her eyebrows. "When you asked me yesterday about what I was doing?"

Cruz grinned at her and nodded. "Was I good at keeping the secret?"

"You're good at secret keeping, but not at subtlety, I'm afraid. You left me confused for most of the shift," she chuckled, before pulling Cruz into another hug. "Thank you, Cruz. Really. This is the best thing you could have done for me today. The absolute best."

He pulled away from her hug and smiled back at her. "Sylvie Brett, you're completely welcome. We all knew you needed something like this. I was the one with the idea, roped everyone else into it yesterday."

Sylvie smiled as Cruz left and walked away. It was true - she did need this, and she was so glad that Cruz had realised what she needed and was happy to do it. The fact that he'd closed down Molly's to do this, and that he'd gone to find all of her friends in the city - even those from Med - made her so incredibly happy.

Out of everyone here, she needed to talk to Will and Kim the most. She hadn't spoken to Will since she was in hospital. He hadn't been to visit, and she'd never seen him in hospital except for the other day, but he was busy with a patient and hadn't been able to speak to her.

Kim was worried. Sylvie knew that. And she needed to talk to her just as much as Will. Kim had become one of her best friends over the last few months, and Sylvie felt incredibly lucky to have her. But ever since the shooting, she hadn't had the time to speak to her and talk about what was going on. Even if she wanted to. She'd basically been on house arrest, and Kim was working. There'd been no chances to really see her and talk to her.

After a few minutes of greeting some of the people from the firehouse, and saying hello to Erin and Jay, Antonio arrived back at her side, a glass of wine and a beer in his hands. Sylvie gratefully took the wine and turned to Antonio, eyebrows raised. "Did you know about all this too?"

Antonio chuckled and nodded. "Gabby told me last night, she called me up while you were in the shower at work to tell me about it all. You deserve to let go and just relax like this tonight. Even if it isn't what you wanted, I know you'll enjoy yourself tonight."

"You're the best, you know that?" She smiled up at him, standing on her tip toes just a little and pressing a kiss to his lips. "You enjoy yourself tonight too. You've been babysitting me for two weeks."

He let out a laugh and shook his head, happily kissing her back. "Go on, you. Go and have fun, see Kim, see Will. I'll see you in a little while."

Sylvie watched as Antonio walked away from her and went to the bar to speak to Herrmann and Otis, both of whom were still working. She sighed and took a sip of her wine before walking over to Will, standing at the back of the room. Will had been one of her best friends in Chicago, and one of the first people she met. Even if Gabby was her _first_ best friend, Will was surely one of the first.

The time that she spent at the hospital was always good, thanks to Will. And she was thankful that he was there with her. Even if he hadn't treated her after she got shot, she knew that he'd checked in on her. But she was worried as to why he hadn't made an effort to speak since.

"Will," Sylvie smiled, stepping in front of him.

The smile on his face as she appeared instantly changed her mind about everything - he definitely hadn't been purposefully not talking to her. It must have just been the stress of work.

"Hey, Sylvie. How have you been?" He asked her, turning to face her.

She smiled back at him and nodded. "I've been doing really well, you know that? Everything's settling back down now, thank God."

Will chuckled at her, taking a sip of his beer. "I'm glad to hear that, Sylvie. Connor told me you'd been around the hospital a few times, but I didn't see you. I suppose I was just too busy working." He joked.

"Ah, that's you, isn't it? Will Halstead, the very hard worker," she laughed. He grinned back at her and nodded. As she was about to speak again, her phone buzzed in her bag, and she frowned, pulling it out.

The name of the contact made her freeze. He hadn't spoken to her in just over a year, and she was confused as to why he was still contacting her. In front of her, Will frowned. "What's up? Who is it?" He asked. Sylvie knew that he was worried.

She looked back up at him and frowned. "It's my ex-fiancé. Harrison," she looked back down at her phone and opened up the message.

 _Harrison: I'm in town for work. We should catch up. I miss you and I want to talk about everything. I messed up last year. Let me know a time and a place and I'll be there. X Harrison_


	22. Chapter 22 - The Right Time

**A/N: I'm so, so sorry it's taken me so long to update! I really haven't been motivated to write at all, and I've been crazy busy. But I hope to be back to updating regularly from now on! I'm really looking forward to finishing this story! Please enjoy Chapter 22!**

* * *

 _"Listen, sir. I'm going to need you to step away so I can take this to treat our patient," Sylvie spoke, her hands steadying the gurney as it sat half in the ambulance and half on the ground._

 _As she went to move again, she felt a hot pain hit her side and stumbled backwards, her hands immediately moving to her side and putting pressure on it. She watched as the man ran from the scene as she lost her balance from the pain and fell to the side of the ambulance, pushing herself up against the wheel and groaning in pain._

 _She risked a look at her side which was now covered in blood, her hands covering the wound also covered in the substance. Stars danced in her vision as the pain intensified, her hands pressing harder on the wound to try and stop the bleeding as best she could._

 _She was going to die._

 _She knew there was no chance she'd be able to stand with this pain, and she couldn't gain the courage to lift her hand to grab the radio. Her eyes drooped quickly as the pain became harder to bear as everything around her went black._

Sylvie shot up in bed, breathing heavily, her hand resting onto her side. With a deep breath, she let her head fall into her hands. She hadn't been having nightmares about the shooting that often, but it'd been getting worse now, even after testifying.

"You're fine, Sylvie," she said to herself, softly. "Everything is fine."

Beside her, she felt the bed shift and Antonio sit up, his hand rubbing her back softly. "Sylvie? You okay? I felt you wake up. What's wrong? It's 3am."

She shook her head and turned to face him. "Nothing, just a nightmare," she smiled at him as reassuringly as she could, but knew it probably wouldn't show like she wanted it to.

"Nightmare? Tell me what it was about, baby," Antonio whispered. "You have nothing to be afraid of, Sylvie. I'm here, and we're safe."

Sylvie nodded at him. "I know we're fine, and that I'm safe. I just… sometimes I get nightmares where I don't grab my radio after I get shot… and nobody finds me. It's just the shooting - it scares me still, so I freak out about it. But it's silly, don't worry about it."

"Baby, it's not silly," Antonio frowned and pulled her closer to him, pulling her back to lay down on the bed again. "It's completely normal to have nightmares about that sort of stuff, just try and sleep again, okay? You have work again in the morning, and I'm here. I always will be."

She let herself lay back down beside him and snuggled into her side, nodding to herself. She knew that Antonio was right, but it was so much simpler to just downplay it to her favour. But Antonio was quick and she should have realised he wouldn't have fallen for it.

Her mind had been running on overdrive for the past week. After getting that text from Harrison at her surprise party a week ago, everything had been different. She didn't want to talk with Harrison about anything, because she was happy with Antonio now. Anything that could upset her was something she wanted to steer clear of.

She hadn't let herself tell Antonio yet, and the only person to know about the text so far was Will. He'd promised he'd keep it to himself and Sylvie believed him - it wasn't a big deal if she didn't reply to the text, and that was what she did. It was just an unanswered text on her phone so far. She didn't plan on giving him an answer, because he simply didn't deserve it.

Sylvie shook her head to try and clear her mind and allow her to sleep.

Eventually, the only thing that let her fully drift off was Antonio's grip around her that ensured her that she was safer than she felt.

* * *

"Squad 3, Truck 81, Ambulance 61, house fire, 1941 South Desplaines Street."

Sylvie ran out of the firehouse just after Gabby, happily taking her seat in the passenger seat and letting Gabby drive. She hadn't driven to the scenes since she'd been allowed back at work, but it wasn't bothering her lately - as long as they got to the location and did their job, everything was fine.

She felt a little guilty for not mentioning Harrison's text to Gabby, of all people, but as they pulled up to the house, the thought left her mind. Sylvie quickly headed to the front of the house where a woman was standing with her daughter. Gabby began to speak to the mother and lead her to the ambo.

"Hi, sweetie," Sylvie smiled. "I'm Sylvie and I'm going to take good care of you, okay? Can you tell me your name?"

"Hannah," the little girl coughed as Sylvie led her to the ambo after her mother. It was simple smoke inhalation so nothing seemed to be too wrong as the boys from Truck and Squad headed inside and worked on making sure no one else was inside and putting out the fire.

"Okay, Hannah. Are you feeling okay?" Sylvie asked her, grabbing some of the gear she was going to need to check Hannah and make sure everything really was well.

The little girl nodded and Sylvie smiled at her just as Severide called her name from the house. "Brett! We need you over here!"

She looked quickly to Gabby who nodded at her. "I've got it, go!"

Sylvie hurried over to where Severide was standing with Cruz. On the ground next to Cruz was a small boy, probably around ten years old, severely burnt. Sylvie knelt beside him, checking for a pulse. "It's weak, we need to get him to Med."

She looked back up at Cruz. "Go to the ambo and grab the gurney, this kid's priority."

He nodded at her and ran off toward Gabby and 61 who was already calling a second ambulance for assistance. As Sylvie began to check his airways, Cruz pushed the gurney up beside her and with help from Severide, they lifted him up onto the gurney and wheeled him back to the ambo.

Severide and Cruz took the woman and her daughter while Sylvie got into the front of the ambo and drove to Med as quickly as she could.

As they dropped the boy off to Natalie at Med, Sylvie felt a weight lifted off of her chest. Though, as she and Dawson finished the papers, she could see something was wrong. She turned to Dawson and frowned. "Hey, Gabby. What's up?"

"Louie's Dad showed up," Gabby muttered, shaking her head. "He's threatening to take Louie away from us, Brett. That guy can't take Louie away from us. I won't let it happen."

"I can't imagine what you're going through, I'm so sorry," Sylvie frowned. She hated seeing Gabby so upset, especially since she knew how much Louie meant to her and Matt.

"The thought of not having Louie in my life, it's not hard. It's impossible," Gabby shook her head, tears rising to her eyes. "Everything was so good just a few days ago, and now everything's just gone to shit, Brett."

Sylvie frowned, letting her eyes fall to the ground before looking back up at Gabby.

"I was adopted." She said, trying to make her voice seem more confident than she felt.

"You didn't tell me that."

She could tell that Gabby was shocked, and she had good reason to be. Sylvie was a private person - everyone knew that. But it'd never come up before, and so, she'd never felt a good reason to mention it before. "It's not a secret or anything. I just don't talk about it much. I look a lot like my parents who are both wonderful, loving people. It wasn't a big deal when I was little. But as I got older I thought about them all the time. My birth parents, I mean. Mostly I wished that they cared enough to come looking for me. Get to know me," Sylvie sighed, taking a deep breath. "They never did."

Sylvie watched as Gabby solemnly nodded before looking up at her again. "What do you think I should do?"

"I think it's not such a bad idea to sit down with this man. Both for him and for Louie."

Gabby nodded at her again, before furrowing her eyebrows. "Does Antonio know? About you being adopted?"

Sylvie shook her head. "It's never come up, because I never really felt like it was important to talk about. You know? The parents I have are the people that really are my parents, even if they didn't give birth to me. I don't like to bring attention to it too often. But I should tell him, you're right about that. I just don't want it to be a big deal or a contributing factor to why I'm me, you know? And I want to be ready. Please… don't tell him just yet. It has to be the right time."

* * *

"I still don't understand why blueberry pancakes weren't on the menu tonight," Sylvie sighed, throwing away the takeaway containers and turning to face Antonio, grinning.

He chuckled at her and shook his head. "We can't have blueberry pancakes every night, baby. You'll get sick of them if you eat them too much, I'm sure of that."

Sylvie rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Me? Get sick of blueberry pancakes? You make me laugh," she let out a sarcastic laugh. "I could eat them for every meal for the rest of my life, you know."

"Here's the thing, Sylvie - I know you could. And that's precisely the reason why we didn't cook them tonight and why I've lett them for special occasions." He grinned at her and pressed a kiss to her lips. "Hey, I need to talk to you about something…"

Sylvie frowned at him, but nodded. "Yeah, what is it?" She asked.

There was no way he could have known about the Harrison text since he and Will weren't very close. And she knew Gabby wouldn't have told him about her being adopted… so what was it?

The two of them moved over to sit at the dining table once more, and Antonio took her hand. "I've decided to leave my job in the Intelligence Unit," he spoke softly.

Sylvie raised her eyebrows in shock. "What? Are you serious, Antonio? You love your job!"

"I know I do, Sylvie," he frowned. "But I've got an offer from Peter Stone that I can't turn down. I'm going to work with him over at the Attorney's Office. I'm going to be Chief Investigator." Antonio smiled so brightly that Sylvie couldn't help smile back.

"Are you serious? Antonio, that's great news! Have you really thought this over, though?" She asked him, holding his hands tightly in hers. "I mean, the Intelligence Unit is everything to you. Do you think you really can move like this?"

He nodded at her. "I know I can, Sylvie. I've already told Peter Stone about it and everything is set up. It's happening, and I'm really happy."

She grinned over at him and leant in to kiss him softly. "I'm so proud of you, Antonio," Sylvie chuckled. "But now that you mention that, I wanted to ask you something."

Antonio nodded at her and smiled. "Shoot," he spoke.

She knew this was a long shot, but with the text from Harrison, she felt like it was the right time for the two of them. So, with a deep breath, she spoke:

"What would you think about me moving in permanently with you?"


	23. Chapter 23 - Any Other Way

**A/N: How crazy was episode 12? I can't believe the events that happened, and my heart is truly broken for Brettonio. I had some other plans for this chapter, but I scrapped most of them because I knew Brettonio shippers, like me, are hurting right now. We deserve cute Brettonio scenes. So, enjoy Chapter 23!**

* * *

"And lunch is served," Sylvie grinned, waving her hands around much to enthusiastically after their last call - a chemical leak which ended in an explosion and over ten injuries.

Severide sauntered up to the counter and leant onto it. "What did you cook for us, Brett? Is that stir-fry I can see?"

She smiled at him and nodded. "My signature dish, chicken stir-fry. I figured it'd be a good comfort food of sorts after that last call." Sylvie shrugged and scooped some into a bowl of her own. "Serve yourselves!"

Sylvie stepped away from the counter and the stir-fry and headed down to a spare seat at the table. She watched as a small line formed while everyone got their lunch, and couldn't help smiling as she saw Boden help himself to some as well.

As she ate, she couldn't help but let her mind wander. Everything was going well with Antonio, her work life was great, her friends were as supportive as ever, but the threat of Harrison being back in town was scaring her. Antonio still had no idea about the text, but Sylvie was just hoping that Harrison had left town now.

After all, he had texted her a week ago, and surely that meant that he'd be gone by now and that he wouldn't try and contact her again. She couldn't be sure about it, of course, but at least she could hope.

Gabby and Stella sat down on either side of her and dug into their stir-fry happily. Everyone else in the firehouse was enjoying some of it, and Sylvie hadn't missed Connie taking a tiny scoop of it to eat with her usual homemade sandwich either.

"Mmmmm," Stella groaned beside her. "This food, Sylvie? It's heavenly."

Sylvie grinned at her. "Well, I'm very glad you're enjoying it, Stella." She laughed and shook her head in amusement, finishing her own bowl and taking it up to the sink. Luckily, she'd cooked the lunch, which meant she didn't have to wash anything up. She'd be lying if she said that wasn't part of why she cooked for everyone most of the time.

As Mouch came up to grab seconds, she heard the alarm sound and a call come in. "Truck 81, Ambulance 61, apartment fire, 2175 South Washtenaw Avenue."

Gabby joined Sylvie as they quickly headed out of the firehouse.

They reached the scene in minutes, pulling up outside and getting out of the ambo. Casey and Stella headed into the house, the fire not looking too bad from the outside. Sylvie stood beside Gabby, waiting.

"How's everything with Louie going?" Sylvie asked, hesitantly. She hadn't heard much about it since she'd spoken with Gabby at the hospital.

Gabby shrugged. "Who knows right now? We set up a meeting with his Dad, and he didn't even show. So I don't even know what's going on."

"I'm sorry, Gabby," Sylvie frowned. "I hope everything clears up for you and Matt. You two deserve to keep Louie. I'm sorry that he didn't show up to your meeting."

"It's fine, Sylvie. Don't sweat it. It isn't your fault," she smiled as reassuringly as possible, moving to watch the house more intently. She frowned and looked over at Otis. "Shouldn't they be out by now?"

Otis nodded at her and frowned, grabbing the radio. "Casey, Kidd - you two all right in there? What's the situation? Report back."

Nothing came back through the radio, and Otis called in again.

As Herrmann moved to walk into the house, Casey and Kidd came stumbling out, both of them with their arms around a middle aged man.

Sylvie and Gabby ran forward immediately with the gurney.

"Everyone get down! There's gas!" Casey yelled, hurrying down the front steps of the house before throwing the three of them to the ground. Gabby quickly stopped the gurney and grabbed Sylvie's arm, pulling her down behind the gurney just as the windows burst, flames spewing out of all of them.

Sylvie stayed down, peeking out from the gurney to see if it was save to move yet. She saw Stella kneeling, moving the man they'd pulled from the house up. Casey moved beside her and stood, pulling the man toward the gurney. Sylvie and Gabby got up quickly, helping him onto the gurney and wheeling him over to the ambulance.

Her heart was still beating fast in her chest as she pulled away from the scene.

* * *

"Sylvie, hey!" Will called, hurrying to catch up with Sylvie. "You here from a call?" He asked her, stopping in front of her.

She nodded at him. "Yeah, I was just heading back out to the ambo. Gabby's in with Casey and Stella, they're getting checked by Natalie and April. There was an explosion at the scene and they were right in it."

"Shit, are they okay?" Will asked, frowning suddenly.

"Yeah, as far as I low. It's just a bit of a check-up to make sure, I suppose," she smiled. "How have you been, though, Will?"

Will shrugged at her and smiled. "Decent, really decent. It's been a busy week this week here at Med but I'm doing fine, really. I like being busy. How have you been, though? Since, you know, the text?"

Sylvie trusted Will - she always had. She'd felt a bit like he was the only person he could trust with what had happened at Molly's. It wouldn't be right to tell Gabby or Matt, especially with how well they knew Antonio.

"I've been fine," Sylvie replied. "Everything is okay with that whole thing. I haven't replied to him and he hasn't contacted me since. I don't really think it's anything to worry about."

Will nodded at her, crossing his arms over his chest. "I think you should tell Antonio, though. If you haven't already."

With a frown, Sylvie shook her head. "I don't think I need to, Will. If nothing has happened and I haven't replied, I don't want to make it into a big deal. And I know I should, Will. But I just... I don't want to cause unnecessary stress, you know?" She sighed and looked down at her feet.

"Listen, I should really get back to the ambo," Sylvie began, stepping away from Will. "Just- please don't mention this to anyone, Will. Please."

Will watched her as she walked away and sighed before leaving and heading to Maggie to get his next patient.

* * *

"I'm glad you decided to cook me blueberry pancakes instead of buying them at that diner we used to go to," Sylvie grinned, leaning on her hand.

Antonio chuckled at her and cut into one of his pancakes. "Well, I've got to keep my girl happy, don't I?" He smirked, picking up his coffee and taking a sip. "Plus, I'm due at work in an hour so it's the least I could do to welcome you home."

Sylvie couldn't hide the smile from her face as she bit into a pancake.

She was feeling a little guilty, having kept the truth about Harrison from Antonio. But she knew that she couldn't tell him, not now. If she was going to tell him at all, it should have been straight away. Telling him now would create drama she didn't want.

"What are you up to this weekend?" She asked, taking a sip of her own coffee and cutting into another pancake. She only had one more shift this week and was looking forward to a hopefully relaxing weekend with Antonio.

He sighed at her and put his fork down. "Laura contacted me last night, while you were at work," Sylvie froze, her fork in mid-air. Laura, his ex-wife, had contacted him again? "She wants me to go out with her, Diego and Eva on Saturday. She thinks it'll be good for them. You know, to have the family back together."

Sylvie nodded apprehensively. "So, you're going to go?"

He nodded back at her. "You're welcome to come al-"

"No!" Sylvie shook her head quickly. "No, you need this time with your kids. Even if Laura is with you, I trust you. I mean, did you cook her blueberry pancakes every morning? Did you let her move in with you after such a short time dating?"

Antonio chuckled at her and shook his head. "No, I didn't cook her breakfast every morning. Nor did we move in very quickly together," he smiled. "But thank you for trusting me with this, baby."

She smiled back at him. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

After finishing up their breakfast, Antonio sat their plates and mugs in the sink and headed to their bedroom to grab his jacket and gear for work.

He joined her back in the kitchen where she was grabbing a glass of water.

"What are you up to today?" He asked her, pulling on his jacket.

"Well, right now I'm going to sleep for a few hours, and then I think I'll finish reading Dune so I can give it back to Otis. I might cook something before you get home, too. Cake sound alright to you?"

He grinned at her and nodded before stepping forward and pressing a kiss to her lips. "You live an exciting life," he mumbled, grinning as he pulled away from her. "I'll see you tonight, baby. Make sure you get a good sleep, my bed is yours."

Sylvie smiled at him and kissed him back swiftly. "Your bed is comfier," she grinned.

"Cake is good," Antonio called, heading towards the door. "And yes, by the way."

She frowned, confused. "Yes to what?"

Antonio couldn't help but grin as he pulled the door almost closed. "Yes, I want you to move in with me permanently, baby."

Before Sylvie got the chance to answer, he pulled the door closed, a grin etched on his face as Sylvie chuckled happily to herself, grabbed her glass of water and retreated to her and Antonio's bedroom, happily crawling under the covers and letting herself sleep.


	24. Chapter 24 - My Girl

**A/N: I'm counting on Brettonio to get back together soon. I mean, everything is looking up for Burzek over on PD, so we can't give up hope for Brettonio! Enjoy Chapter 24, though... emotions are high in this one.**

* * *

"What do you girls want to drink?" Stella asked, heading into the kitchen and pulling open the fridge. "I got beer, red wine, little bit of whiskey. What's the preference?"

Gabby pondered over the decision for a few moments. "Chuck me a beer."

Beside her, Sylvie chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, I'll have the same!"

"Would you look at that? Sylvie Brett turning down the wine." Stella joked, grabbing three beers and joining the girls back down in the living room.

Sylvie pulled a face at Stella and smirked. "I'm not feeling the red wine, so beer seems like the safer option of the three. I'm disappointed you didn't stock up on some white for me..."

"Well, if you and Gabby had decided to come around before an hour ago, I would have. But since you've sorta sprung this on me, you've gotta deal with the stuff I've already got," Stella shrugged, taking a sip of her beer.

It was their day off shift, and after sleeping for most of the day, Gabby had got in contact with Sylvie and Stella and ordered a girls night. They hadn't actually got together for one for a while, so it seemed only right for them to have one now. Especially with all the stress of the last few weeks and months.

Sylvie knew that Gabby was stressed out with everything going on with Louie, and she needed to talk to Stella as well about her whole situation with Severide. Everything was going fine with her and Antonio lately, minus the text message ordeal that she knew Will was still annoyed about, but this girls night had obviously been in the making for months.

After Sylvie cracked open her second bottle of beer, Gabby decided to dive into exactly what Sylvie was wondering about before - her situation with Matt and Louie.

"I think we're going to lose Louie," Gabby said, her voice was soft and completely unlike what it was usually like when she spoke. Sylvie could tell just how terrified she was about losing him.

"Gabby..." Stella frowned, leaning forward and pulling Gabby into her. "What makes you think that, hun? I thought everything was settling down with that?"

Gabby scoffed and shook her head, wrapping an arm around Stella. "Matt and I met up with Louie's father again, and he bought his parents along. He wanted them to meet him, even if we were going to take him in the end. But I just-" she stopped herself and shook her head. "I can't take him away from a family that wants to love him that much, you know? The love in that room..."

Sylvie frowned. "Maybe...," she hesitated as the two girls looked over at her. "Don't shoot me - but maybe it's for the best? You don't want to put him through all of that stress, right?"

"You're right," Gabby nodded, sipping her beer. "It's not fair for Louie for me and Matt to put him through a whole trial to decide who gets custody. He's so young... I don't want to do that to him, but I don't want to lose him."

Sylvie hated the stress that this situation was putting on Gabby at Matt. Nobody deserved to go through anything like that, and quite honestly, Sylvie hated that such great people were going to lose such an amazing kid. She'd grown to love Louie herself, especially while living with him. But she knew that if her real family had fought for her like Louie's was when she was young, she'd want to be with them. Of course, with no offence to those who wanted to adopt her.

She took a sip of her beer and sighed.

Nobody deserved to go through this.

Especially not her friends.

* * *

"I'm in love, guys!"

"Are you drunk, Stella?" Sylvie asked, raising her eyebrows and putting her glass of water down on the table beside her.

Gabby scoffed and let out a laugh. "She's Stella freaking Kidd, of course she's drunk. Don't you know that she only speaks the truth after a few drinks?"

It was a few hours later now, and Sylvie had put down the alcohol and traded it in for water. She didn't want to be drunk when she eventually went back to Antonio. Which would probably be soon, considering how tired she was feeling.

"I'm telling you the truth, girls!" Stella exclaimed, slamming her beer down on the table a little too forcefully. "I think I might be in love with him."

"And what? It's Severide, isn't it?" Gabby asked, leaning back in her chair.

Stella raised her eyebrows at Gabby, but nodded. "But he's in love with someone else now. So, I'm not going to get in between him and her. He deserves a good girl, happiness with someone like her. I mean, I met her! He saved her life, so I'm gonna let him be."

"You mean Anna?" Sylvie asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

Stella nodded again.

"Wait - didn't Kelly tell you?" Gabby frowned.

"Tell me what? He was going to see her this morning before she checked out. That's what he told me just before the end of shift, anyway," Stella shrugged.

Gabby rolled her eyes and turned to face Stella. "Stell, she left," she said. "Kelly went to see her this morning, yeah, but she left before he got there. She's gone back to Springfield without giving him a chance."

"Stella, just go for it. You've been there for him more than anyone, lately. If he needs anyone now, it's going to be you. Not me, not Matt, not Sylvie. You."

* * *

Sylvie couldn't keep the smile off her face as Antonio pulled her chair out and let her sit down in the restaurant. He'd met her at home earlier that afternoon and informed her that he was taking her out to dinner.

He said that it was only right - he'd spent the whole day with Laura, Diego and Eva - now he had to spent the night with ' _his girl'._ Sylvie definitely did internally scream when he said that to her.

"Wine?" He asked her, grabbing the wine menu from the table after sitting down himself. Antonio looked at her over the top of it, watching as she nodded.

After ordering the two of them a glass of white wine each, he couldn't help leaning over and taking her hand across the table. Sylvie grinned at him.

"What? You missed me that much today, hey?" She smirked.

He chuckled lightly and looked down at the table. "I definitely did miss you today, baby," Antonio looked back up at her, smiling. "I did have a good day with Laura and the kids, though. But how can I resist treating my girl?"

Sylvie blushed at his words as the waiter came by and gave each of them a glass of white wine. She instantly picked up her glass and took a sip of it.

Across the table, Antonio did the same before picking up the menu. Sylvie grabbed her own and began to flick through it, becoming increasingly exciting at how good the food was going to be here.

Antonio definitely didn't have to bring her to a restaurant as fancy as this one. She would have been fine with take-out at home, but she was thrilled to be here. The idea that he wanted to treat her so much made the butterflies in her stomach go crazy.

"What are you having?" Sylvie asked, peeking at him across the table.

He looked up at her instantly, before looking back down at the menu. "I'm thinking that I'll go for the steak and baked potato. What are you feeling like?"

Sylvie grinned. "Ever the traditionalist," she smirked. "I'm going for the Three Cheese Risotto, actually. I think I'll leave the blueberry pancakes for dessert."

Antonio laughed softly at her and called the waiter over, instantly ordering their meals. Sylvie could hardly wait.

"How was your day, baby?" He asked her, looking down at their hands, entwined together across the table once more. "Did you do anything interesting?"

She couldn't help but blush, embarrassed, as he asked her. "Well, I marathoned Stranger Things on Netflix, texted Gabby a little bit... uh, slept in until almost noon," she chuckled. "The usual..."

Antonio smirked at her. "This is what happens to you when I'm not around? Looks like I'll have to spend more time with you, then." He grinned.

"What about you?" Sylvie asked, smiling.

"My day?" He raised his eyebrows.

Sylvie nodded at him.

Antonio shrugged. "It was the usual, the four of us just went out to lunch and took Diego and Eva to a mall for a while. Diego got a new game for his PlayStation and Eva bought a couple new books. It was good, though. It was nice to be a family again," he mused. "I couldn't wait to come back home to you though."

"You don't have to do that, you know..." Sylvie frowned.

Across the table, Antonio furrowed his eyebrows. "Do what?"

"Try and compensate for hanging out with your own family," Sylvie sighed. "You're allowed to say that it was nice to be a family with the three of them again without adding me into the equation. You don't have to do that, Antonio."

Antonio frowned at her and shook his head. "I said it because I meant it, baby. It _was_ nice to be a family again, but I was so excited to bring you out tonight as well. I wasn't compensating for anything."

As Sylvie went to speak again, a waiter appeared, putting their dinner on the table in front of them. Sylvie dug in immediately, wanting to ignore the conversation.

* * *

The car was quiet as Antonio drove home. It was about a 45 minute drive from the restaurant to Antonio's apartment, but Sylvie didn't mind. After dinner, the mood from their previous conversation had disappeared. Which was good.

"You said you talked to Gabby today," Antonio said suddenly.

"Yeah, I did," Sylvie nodded. "We just texted on and off."

Antonio looked over at her briefly. "What about?"

"Mostly about Louie, actually," Sylvie pondered, nodding to herself. "They've decided to give him back to his rightful family. It's a good decision, I think..."

Antonio was silent for a while beside her, and Sylvie moved to look out of the window at the lights of the city as they drove.

"I'll have to call her tomorrow, check if she's okay," Antonio finally spoke again, though his voice was quiet. "I'm going to miss that little guy..."

Sylvie smiled and nodded. "Yeah, so will I," she chuckled. "I'd like to have kids some day. I think having Louie around just made that so much clearer for me..."

Antonio frowned, keeping his eyes on the road. "I think I'm good in that aspect," he chuckled softly. "I've got Eva and Diego, and having those two is enough for me. Having more kids just seems like too much."

* * *

As Sylvie fell asleep that night, she couldn't help but think about what Antonio said. Was he really the right person for her if he didn't want kids with her? She understood that Antonio already had two, but still...

Antonio wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close as the two started to fall asleep. "Sleep well, baby," he muttered, Sylvie barely hearing it as she drifted off to sleep.


	25. Chapter 25 - Mind on Overdrive

**A/N: This chapter is a little short, but the next few chapters will make up for it! I can guarantee. For all those new people finding this story through twitter, I hope this keeps up the hope for Brettonio coming back for you all! I've still got hope!**

* * *

Sylvie's mind was running on overdrive all night, leading to her getting a severely small amount of sleep before she got up to head to work. She knew that she could at least get in a few hours at the firehouse before and after their calls, though.

She left Antonio asleep and headed off to the firehouse on her own. Antonio preferred her to wake him up before she left, but she couldn't manage it today - not after what he'd said last night. For the first real time, she was doubting their relationship.

She hated the feeling.

It was barely light by the time Sylvie headed into the firehouse. She smiled weakly at Cruz and Otis and headed to her bunk to put down her bag. After taking a small breather, she headed back into the kitchen.

She needed to talk to someone about what Antonio had said, but she knew she couldn't talk to Gabby about it. She'd tell her that she was thinking too far ahead or that it was just Antonio being Antonio.

Those answers wouldn't help her - they'd just hinder her even more. She sighed and grabbed a cup of yogurt out of the fridge and headed down to one of the tables. Why had she brought up the topic of wanting children last night? She should have just let it rest. It was to soon into their relationship to be thinking of children. Why had she been so moody around Antonio when he was just being kind? Maybe she just needed a break.

She missed the solidarity of living alone.

* * *

"Mornin' sunshine," Stella grinned, sliding into a chair across from the blonde. "You look positively radiant this morning."

Sylvie chuckled at her and rolled her eyes. "You're funny, Stella. Have you ever considered comedy as a possible profession when you're too old to be a firefighter?"

Stella shrugged at her. "I haven't, actually. But I appreciate the suggestion, I'll keep it in mind."

It had been a few hours since Sylvie had arrived at the firehouse, and the lack of sleep was weighing on her. She itched to get out and go on a call, but they hadn't had any so far today. Gabby and Matt were talking in Matt's office, Severide was working in his office too and everyone else was just trying to pass time in any way that they could.

Sylvie had been reading, of course. She'd picked up one of her old copies of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and had brought it with her to work. If anything could help her pass the time, she figured it'd be Harry Potter.

She couldn't help the feeling of worry rising in her stomach about the fact that there hadn't been any text from Antonio yet. Usually, he sent her a text every morning, whether they'd spoken before work or not. Yet, it was well into the morning and she'd received nothing.

As she shook the thought from her head, the first call of the day came in and Sylvie couldn't help the thrill than ran through her at hearing what it was for.

"Ambulance 61, 1900 South Federal Street, Fall."

"Graham, you need to make sure that your father has your help whenever he's going up or down the staircase in your house, okay?" Gabby sighed, guiding the traumatised son of the victim into the ambulance.

Luckily, the victim, who had fallen down the stairs, wasn't too badly injured.

Sylvie and Gabby had found that it was mostly treating the son, who was clearly in shock, after finding his father at the bottom of the staircase in their house. After loading him into the ambulance, everything was sorted.

"You good to drive, Sylvie?" Gabby asked, raising her eyebrows.

Sylvie sent a nod back her way, jumping into the front of the ambo and waiting for Gabby to give her the all clear. As soon as she did, Sylvie pulled away from the house and began to make her way to Med.

The drive to Med was quick and soon enough Graham and his father were being wheeled into the emergency room and taken into a room with Natalie Manning.

As Gabby worked on the paperwork, Sylvie found herself lost in thought once more. She needed to talk to someone about Antonio. But if she couldn't talk to Gabby, who could she talk to? Not Stella or Matt. It couldn't be anyone at the firehouse, but it had to be someone who knew Antonio well. She wasn't going to approach Will, either. He was still pressuring her to talk to Antonio about Harrison.

"You okay, Sylvie?" Gabby's voice interrupted her thoughts. Sylvie jumped at the interruption, but nodded quickly.

"I'm good, Dawson," she smiled. "I'm just tired. I didn't get much sleep last night."

Gabby cringed and shook her head. " _No!"_ She exclaimed, quite loudly. "I don't need to hear about what went on with you and Antonio while you weren't sleeping. Don't tell me, don't say another word."

Sylvie flushed, though she shook her head just as violently. "No, Dawson! I didn't mean that stuff, oh my God. I just meant that I couldn't sleep! Not that Antonio and I were busy doing other stuff."

"Okay, good, good. But let's stop talking about that right now, okay?" Gabby looked uncomfortable and Sylvie couldn't help but laugh at her.

For a few moments, as Sylvie and Gabby headed back out to the ambo, she'd forgotten all about her problems with Antonio, yet, a name popped into her head as soon as she'd sat down in the passenger seat. _Kim!_

Without a second thought, she grabbed her phone and typed a text to Kim.

 _Sylvie Brett: Girls night soon? Just you and me? :)_

Within minutes, she'd gotten a reply.

 _Kim Burgess: Absolutely! Text me when and where and I'll be there!_

* * *

Later that night, when it was finally dark at the firehouse and the group were settling in for the night and any calls they'd get, Sylvie couldn't help but send Antonio a text. She felt guilty for leaving him earlier that morning, and while she knew she'd had a valid reason, it wasn't anything to shut him out for.

 _Sylvie Brett: Goodnight, sleep well. I hope you had a good day today. See you tomorrow morning! X :)_

After hitting send on the message, she instantly moved into a conversation with Kim, organising when they'd meet up for drinks. It was finalised that they'd meet up tomorrow night at a bar in the city - not Molly's.

As Sylvie fell asleep, she felt both excited and nervous at the prospect of tomorrow. While she'd have fun with Kim, she'd have to deal with seeing Antonio first.

* * *

It was only just getting light when Sylvie packed up her gear from her shift and began the drive back home to Antonio's apartment. She was worried about what he'd say when she got home, having woken up to no new messages from him, even though her text last night had said it'd been read.

She pulled into the parking lot and slung her bag over her shoulder, slowly making her way upstairs. It was early, but Sylvie wasn't too tired. She'd slept most of the night, only having to get up for one call at 2:00am, but for the most part, she'd gotten a decent amount.

As she pushed open the door to the apartment, her heart was beating faster than it ever had. She knew it was the nerves. What would she see inside?

She let the door close behind her before moving her eyes from the floor, looking around the apartment. Her bag fell from her shoulder at the sight, her hands moving quickly to cover her mouth. She hadn't been expecting _this._


	26. Chapter 26 - Part Of My Family

**A/N: I know, I know. You all hate me for leaving you on that cliffhanger at the end of Chapter 25. But I can promise you that Chapter 26 makes up for it. So, read! Enjoy! Review! You won't regret it!**

* * *

Antonio Dawson stood in the kitchen, smiling at Sylvie as she walked in the door from her long shift at the firehouse. In front of him, on the counter, sat a plate full of blueberry pancakes, her favourite.

He looked at her, not moving his eyes from her, even as her bag fell from her shoulder and her hands flew up to her mouth. She began to walk slowly toward him and it was clear to Antonio that she was shocked to see him.

"I know I said some things last night that I shouldn't have," Antonio began to speak, watching as Sylvie continued to walk toward him. "I know that the two of us have a lot to talk about and I figured that it'd be best to do it over blueberry pancakes. What do you think?"

He was feeling hopeful. He knew that he should have sent a message to her yesterday when she was at work, like he usually did, but he'd been too busy in his own thoughts to do so. Even late last night when she'd sent him a text goodnight.

He'd been up half the night planning out their morning, everything he needed to talk to her about, just hoping that she'd agree to talk to him.

Antonio would never admit it to Sylvie, or himself, that he'd asked Laura for her advice on the whole situation. While they were relatively new partners at work, they were getting along somewhat well - when it came to the cases.

Naturally, Laura hadn't been too much of a help when Antonio had asked how to fix a relationship that was going to be on the rocks if something wasn't done. She'd simply glared at him from across her desk and said "Just fix it, Dawson."

Sylvie had reached him, now, and was standing in front of the counter. Her hands had fallen from her mouth and her arms were now crossed as she looked at him. She was worried, just as Antonio was, about what was going to happen.

"Listen, baby," Antonio sighed. "I know you're probably drained and tired from work, and if you want to sleep, I won't stop you. But we do need to talk."

Across from him, Sylvie slowly found herself nodding.

"I'm tired, yes. Exhausted, drained, all that," she agreed. "But you're right, Antonio. We need to figure all of this out. And talking about it all over blueberry pancakes sounds great."

She moved around the counter and grabbed the stack of pancakes, taking them carefully to the dining table. Antonio smiled softly and grabbed a plate for each of them, following her to the table and setting them down.

Once the two of them were settled at the table, pancakes beginning to be devoured and topics of conversation whizzing through each of their heads, Sylvie began to speak.

"I was being stupid, Antonio," she frowned, shaking her head. "When you took me out for dinner, I know you were just being kind. I know you weren't just trying to compensate for spending time with your family. But I... I was jealous, okay? I don't often get to spend time with my family. You're the closest thing to it here in Chicago. I got hurt and upset when you said that you don't want more children, because it means you don't want a family with _me._ You know that I want children, Antonio. You know that I've always wanted children. And I know that it's too early to be thinking about children in our relationship, but I need to say it, Antonio. I want children, and if you don't want any more, I don't know how this can work out."

Sylvie's mind was buzzing as she finished speaking and she immediately continued to eat some of her pancakes. She tried not to look at Antonio across the table, who was sitting, staring at his pancakes and thinking. This was why Sylvie had been so cold to him. Because he'd made an off-hand comment about not wanting more children.

He took a deep breath before speaking. "I want you to be a part of my family, Sylvie. It's why I took you out to dinner. Because I wanted you to feel as special as my kids had when I was spending time with them. I'm not saying you're like a kid to me, because you're not, Sylvie. You-you're wife material, Sylvie. But I feel like both of us were on edge at dinner that night. I guess I sort of figured that you could become a member of my family without having to have kids, you know?"

Antonio paused, shaking his head in thought. He was choosing his words carefully, not wanting to push her away with them. He was worried that if he said even one wrong thing, she'd be out of the door and out of his life before he could even fix it. He didn't want her to leave him like Laura had.

"Here's the thing, Sylvie," he continued. "I don't know if I want more kids. I never envisioned having more after Eva and Diego. Laura was the one person I created a family was, and I always thought it'd stay that way. I'll be honest in saying that I thought you could become a part of my family before we even started dating. But kids? Kids never came into the equation for me. Maybe I was thinking about it in the back of my head, I don't know. But what I do know, Sylvie, is that maybe one day, in the future, it'll be the right time and we'll start a family together. Until then, I can't guarantee anything. And I know that might be a deal breaker for you. You deserve someone who can give you everything, Sylvie Brett. Someone who can make you happy and can give you everything you want in life. If you don't think I'm the one for that, that's okay. I'll be accepting of it."

Sylvie couldn't take her eyes off of Antonio after hearing his words. They all meant something, every single one of them was so carefully chosen just to try and make his point. And to Sylvie, it worked. His point was made crystal clear to her. He didn't think he was good enough for her, but if she thought he was and if she was willing to risk it, maybe children might be an option in the future.

Though, at that moment, the thought of Harrison and his text popped into her mind and she frowned. It wasn't the right time to tell him now, but she sighed and told herself to mention it to Kim later that night before she looked back up at Antonio and smiled weakly.

He hadn't moved since he'd stopped talking. He was still, full of worry. It was now or never. Sylvie was either going to get up and walk out the door and out of his life, or she was going to stay and risk becoming a part of the crazy Dawson family. He wished he could say he knew her answer.

Sylvie prepared herself before she spoke. "Antonio, when I was younger, my mom said something to me that meant a lot. She told me that I should never enter into a relationship with someone if you can't imagine marrying them. If you can't imagine a future with them. She told me this because of my real parents."

She watched as a flash of confusion passed across Antonio's face and resisted the urge to laugh at it.

"I'm adopted, Antonio," she continued. "I don't want it to be a big deal, I don't want it to be some massive thing that we keep coming back to. Because it doesn't matter, Antonio. I gave my parents a family, and I'm so happy I was able to do that, even as a child. But what my mom said was true. I can imagine a family with you, Antonio Dawson. It's why I'm here. You're a family man. The love you have for everyone? Eva, Diego, Gabby, even Laura? It's amazing, Antonio. You hold so much love in you and you don't even realise it. And I know you're trying, Antonio. I know you're trying so much for me, and for your kids and your family. I appreciate that."

She paused to watch him take everything in before she spoke again, wanting to deliver her message to him slowly, not wanting to overwhelm him with everything.

"I'm willing to risk it, Antonio," she smiled. "I've never felt this way with anyone else, not in any of the relationships I've been in. I've never had the children conversation with any partner I've been with. You say that I deserve someone who can give me everything. Antonio, that's _you._ You've been with me through thick and thin lately, and I can't thank you enough for all of that. But I'm willing to give us the time, Antonio. Are you?"

He watched her, the hope obvious in his eyes. She'd just said that she wasn't going to leave him. She wasn't going to pull a Laura and bolt at the first sign of conflict. Antonio couldn't help himself when he found himself moving from his seat and to hers, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into his chest. He couldn't help the happiness he felt at her hugging him back.

"I never thought I'd get a second chance at the real thing after Laura," he muttered, holding her close. "But then I met you, Sylvie Brett, and everything changed."

* * *

"Don't be too late," Antonio smiled, watching as Sylvie grabbed her handbag and slung it over her shoulder. "Try not to get drunk, either."

She laughed at him and shook her head. "I promise I won't come home drunk, okay? I'm just going out with Kim, everything will be fine. Don't worry yourself too much about little old me!"

Antonio jokingly rolled his eyes and smirked at her. "How am I supposed to not worry about the possible future mother of my children? It's impossible."

He moved closer to her and pressed a kiss to her lips before moving back, grinning at her. "Really, though. You deserve a night out, baby. Enjoy yourself."

She smiled at him and nodded. "Thank you, Antonio. I promise I won't be too late or too drunk. I'll still be sober enough to safely cuddle with you before we go to sleep, don't you worry about that."

Sylvie couldn't help but move closer to him and pull him into a longer, more passionate kiss. She'd missed kissing him, and after kissing him tonight, she knew she'd made the right decision to stay.

"I'll see you later tonight," she grinned after pulling away and heading to the door.

"Drive safe, baby!" He called after her.

* * *

"You two have already had the children conversation?" Kim gaped at her, her hand, holding her wine, paused mid-air in shock. "Adam and I had barely discussed that in our relationship. And we were _engaged._ "

"I know, I know!" Sylvie chuckled, taking a sip of her own wine. "I was technically the one who brought it up, but I'm glad I did. If I didn't, I feel like our relationship would have gone downhill pretty fast because of all the unsaid things between us. You know?"

Kim nodded at her. "Yeah, I totally understand. It's going to be better for your relationship if you're communicating. I think that's why Adam and I ended so badly."

"Because you weren't communicating?"

"Exactly," Kim agreed. "If we'd spoken about our worries a bit more, I don't doubt that we'd be still together. But everything works out for a reason, I suppose!"

Sylvie took a sip of her drink and nodded slowly at Kim, taking in her words. "Hey, uh, did I ever mention Harrison to you?"

"Yeah, the douche of an ex-fiancé, right?" Kim asked, raising her eyebrows.

"That's the one," Sylvie chuckled at her words. "He sent me a text a few weeks ago and I haven't mentioned it to Antonio. It wasn't anything important. He just wanted to see me and I never actually replied to him. Do you think I should have said something to Antonio?"

Kim thought for a while, occasionally taking a sip of her wine. "I mean, maybe? Do you think that Antonio is the type to make a big deal over things like that? Your ex contacting you?"

Sylvie shook her head. "Antonio hangs out with his ex," she shrugged. "I don't see why it'd be a big deal for one of mine to send me a text. I didn't reply to it. But I feel kind of guilty about it. I hate keeping things from him."

"Then tell him, Sylvie," Kim frowned. "If you're right, maybe he won't even make a big deal about it all. How will you know if you don't try? You didn't reply to Harrison, so I don't see why it'd be that big of a problem. But it's up to you, Sylvie. He's your boyfriend."

Sylvie sighed. She agreed with Kim. It was clear now that she had to tell Antonio about Harrison. But it had to be at the right time. She couldn't just spring it on him randomly. She thought about it in her head for a while. Tomorrow, she went back on shift at the firehouse, so the day after...

She frowned at the prospect, but shook off the feeling. Kim was right - maybe he wouldn't make a big deal out of it. At least, Sylvie hoped he wouldn't.


	27. Chapter 27 - A Little Disagreement

A/N: Well, long time no see! It's been almost a year since I updated this story, and I'm sorry it's taken so long! I didn't have any muse or motivation for absolutely forever and finally I've started to feel motivated again. Plus, in April 2017 my mental health really wasn't great, so now I'm finally good enough again to really start writing again. I'm also planning a few more fics to upload within the next day or two, so I hope you're excited! I have a few more chapters planned for this story, and I'm excited to _finally_ wrap it up and for you guys to see where it ends. Anyway, read on and enjoy!

* * *

"We need to talk."

Sylvie walked into their apartment after returning from Molly's, two days after her girls night with Kim. She'd been dreading this moment ever since she decided to tell Antonio about the text, but she's been holding out hope that Antonio would understand. As she'd thought, he hung out with _his_ ex, so why can't she ignore a text from hers?

He looked up from the table, where he was reading over a few files from his latest case. He looked sweet, and Sylvie realised just how much she'd missed him. She'd seen him earlier in the morning after her shift but he'd been at work for the rest of the day.

She sat down in the seat opposite him and Antonio closed his files.

"What about? Did something happen?" He asked.

Sylvie shook her head. "No, well–yes, but it was a while ago. And I've been keeping it from you but I shouldn't have."

He frowned. "Is it serious?"

"No! No, it's not. It's nothing, really, but I have to tell you."

"Well, shoot," he said.

Sylvie took a deep breath and pulled out her phone. She opened up the message and read it out aloud.

"I got this message from Harrison the night of the surprise party. He hasn't sent anything else since, but I figured I should tell you. I didn't think it was important to tell you but now I've realised I should have told you when the message came though," she admitted.

Antonio frowned, eyes dropping down to look at the table. He's angry – and not because Harrison messaged his girlfriend, because he _knows_ Sylvie is loyal to him and would never go back to that prick, but because she didn't tell him.

"Why didn't you tell me? This is something I should have known about _weeks_ ago, Sylvie. Did you not trust me? Or did you think something else? Did you even consider _replying_ to him? Because if you did..." he drifted off, but Sylvie got the message.

She frantically shook her head. "No, I didn't– not for a second!"

He stood up, grabbing his phone from the table and shaking his head. "Listen, I'm gonna head out and think about this. Okay? I just– I trust you, I do, but this... Syl, you should have told me."

Before Sylvie could say another word, he grabbed his jacket from the back of the chair, grabbed his car keys and disappeared from the house. Sylvie was speechless. How could he leave like that? Leave without a second thought? He was supposed to trust her in this, and even if he'd just said he did, obviously that trust wasn't strong enough.

She squeezed her eyes shut and moved to the couch. It was nearly 10:00pm, since she'd been at Molly's late with Gabby and Stella. But she'd wait up until he came home. Surely he wouldn't be that long. Surely he'd just go for a quick drive around the city and return in less than an hour, refreshed and ready to trust and apologise to her.

It was nearly 3:00am by the time she fell asleep. Antonio wasn't back.

* * *

Sylvie woke up early the following morning, sleep deprived and worried. Antonio still wasn't home, and regretfully she got up and started preparing for work. She couldn't bare to make blueberry pancakes, and instead poured a bowl of tasteless cereal.

It wasn't the same without Antonio here, and she was worried.

As she ate her cereal, she picked up her phone and sent him a quick text.

 ** _Sylvie Brett:_** Antonio, I'm worried. Will you please text me back? I'm heading to work in half an hour. Please let me know you're okay.

There was no reply by the time she got to the station, and she sleepily walked inside. Only a few other firefighters were there, like Cruz, Otis and Stella, and she sat next to Stella.

"Have you heard from Gabby this morning?" She asked her, curious.

Stella shook her head. "No, nothin'. Why? She should be here soon anyway."

"I'm just curious. Wondering if she's spoken to Antonio at all lately."

That got Stella to frown even more, and she turned to Sylvie, instantly worried. "Has somethin' happened? What's goin on, Sylvie?"

She shook her head. "No, it's nothing... we just had a little disagreement. He, uh, he left and he hasn't come home yet. I'm worried. He hasn't answered my texts or anything."

Stella sighed. "What an ass."

Sylvie couldn't bring herself to defend him.

Twenty minutes later, Gabby and Matt arrived, hand-in-hand. Stella was still sat beside Sylvie at the table. Gabby joined them while Matt headed off to his office to get in some work before the first call of the day.

"Hey, have you spoken to Antonio lately?" Sylvie asked, finally finding the courage to ask. She was worried about what Gabby would say. And what if she hadn't heard from him? What if he'd gone off the grid completely?

To her luck, Gabby nodded. "Yeah, he, uh, he stayed over at mine."

"What? Why? You didn't text me. Neither of you did."

She winced. "Yeah, I know. Antonio told me not to, but believe me, Brett, I wanted to. What the hell happened between you? He wouldn't tell me a thing. He just said he needed to be away from you for a bit to think. Did you have an argument?"

Brett nodded. "An argument of sorts. More of a disagreement. I, uh, a few weeks ago, at the party, I got a text from Harrison, my ex. I didn't tell him about it, and last night I finally did and he, uh, he didn't take it well."

"That's all?" Gabby frowned.

"Yeah, that's all. Why?"

"He was acting like it was worse than that. I thought something bad had happened. But that's all? Doesn't he know that you're not interested in Harrison anymore? Seriously, what the hell has gotten into him?" Gabby sighed and shook her head.

Stella agreed. "You gotta talk to him, though. That's the only way he'll understand."

"I probably should. But he hasn't answered any of his texts. So later. After shift."

"Let me know what happens, yeah? I don't want you hurt," Stella said, smiling reassuringly at her. "I'm sure it'll all work itself out. I mean, you got shot and he stuck by you, so if he leaves after this, he ain't worth it, hon. No offense, Gab."

Gabby held up her hands in mock surrender. "None taken."

* * *

Sylvie saw Antonio's car parked outside the firehouse just as she and Gabby pulled the ambo back into the station. They'd been on a call for over an hour, a car accident, and had to drop off a patient to the hospital.

She wondered, briefly, how long Antonio had been there, but also knew that she wasn't ready to talk to him yet. She agreed with Gabby and Stella that she had to talk to him eventually, but she hadn't prepared for it to be so soon. She slipped out the passenger side of the ambo while Gabby went in the front door and hurried in through the back, deciding to head straight to the bathrooms to prepare herself.

She wanted this to work out – she wanted this talk to go well, and she couldn't even prepare herself for a situation where it didn't. Antonio was the most important person in her life and she doesn't know how she can function properly without him now.

Antonio Dawson is the person she'd been starting to fall in love with.

She took a deep breath and stood in front of the sinks, breathing in and out slowly to prepare herself. This could go one of two ways – good or bad. For her sake, she hoped it went the former way. If she and Antonio had a bad fight, she wouldn't be able to focus for the rest of the day.

Preparing herself once more with a deep breath and some reassuring words, she left the bathroom and walked back into the main part of the firehouse. Antonio was sitting at one of the tables next to Gabby, a coffee in front of him.

The second she walked in, he stood up, looking at no one but her.

She held back a wince and pointed a finger to the meeting room off to the side. She didn't want to have this talk where anyone else could overhear. Antonio understood, so she led the way, closing the door behind them and walking into the centre of the room. Her nerves were making her feel sick.

"I'm an ass," Antonio's words started the conversation, and Sylvie was a little shocked by them.

"You are?"

He nodded. "I am. I should have stayed. I should have listened, but I–" he paused, shook his head. "I jumped to conclusions. I was scared you were going to say something I didn't want to hear, so I left. I went to Molly's, had a drink, and then went straight to Gabby. Believe me, she wasn't happy with me being there, but I had no choice."

"You could have come home."

Antonio sighed. "Yeah, I could have. But I just... I needed to think."

Sylvie shook her head and stepped away from him. "You jumped to conclusions. You didn't even let me explain properly before you got up and left. I stayed up all night. I'm tired as hell now because I was waiting for you to come home. I was waiting for you to come home, Antonio, and you didn't!"

Her voice was louder, then. She was angrier than she thought.

"I didn't mean to upset you, Sylvie. I swear, I didn't– I just– I needed to think–"

"You said that, Antonio. But don't you think we should have talked about it? You said you trusted me, but clearly you don't trust me as much as you say you do if you left before giving me a chance to explain."

He frowned. He hated feeling like this. He hated that Sylvie felt like this _because of him._ And he wished so desperately that he could go back in time and _stay._ But he couldn't. All he could do now was to try and win her back.

"Listen, I'm going to stay with Kim for a few nights, okay? I don't want to kick you out of your own apartment. But you said you needed to think, and now I need to think too," Sylvie explained. "I know we had that heart-to-heart a few nights ago, but I need to think now. How can I be with someone who won't even let me explain?"

"Sylvie, please, don't– listen, we can work this out. Don't, please–"

His voice was pleading, and Sylvie almost cracked at the sound. Instead, she got a grip and shook her head.

"I'll text you. We can talk later. But for now, we just... we need to take a break."

She walked out of the room and away from him before he could say anything else.


	28. Chapter 28 - Don't Break His Heart

A/N: A bit shorter than usual, but this is a bit of a filler chapter. For anyone wondering: there will be 30 chapters in all, and an epilogue after that too. I planned to put this up last night by the website was being weird. Anyway, here it is – enjoy!

* * *

Kim had no problem letting Sylvie stay over for a few nights. She understood the situation perfectly, even though Sylvie hadn't explained all that much. Regardless, she liked having someone else around, and Sylvie appreciated the kindness in having someone around that she didn't work with.

They were sat on the couch eating Chinese when Sylvie finally decided to tell Kim what had happened with Antonio. Kim was all ears – she cared about Sylvie, and she would do anything to make her happy.

"Wait, so he just walked out?"

Sylvie nodded. "He did. He came by the firehouse on my last shift to talk to me about it, but I just... I feel bad, but I care about him and I only want the best for us, but the way he reacted... it was a red flag, you know?"

Kim sighed. "I know. I got the same with Adam and meeting my mom. That's why we... well, you know," she paused and shook her head. "Listen, you should take some time for yourself. Stay here for as long as you need, don't see him and just clear your mind. You'll figure it out, I'm confident that you will, but you both need time."

"I think you're right," she agreed. "I used to think that time was the worst thing you could give a relationship, but now I'm not so sure. I think both of us being apart for a few days will be the best possible thing for us."

Kim nodded. "You're right, and as I said, stay here as long as you need. My home is your home. And I know Antonio won't come by here and bother you. He'll ask me about you at work, but he won't get anything out of me."

Sylvie smiled at that. "You really are the greatest friend, you know that?"

She grinned. "You're welcome."

Continuing to eat her Chinese, Sylvie let her mind wander then. She was truly grateful for Kim, really. She had no idea where she'd even go if she didn't have Kim. Stella was staying with Kelly for a while, and she didn't want to be with Antonio's family right now. It would be too much like being with him, regardless of how much she loved Gabby.

Beside her, Kim finished off her Chinese and emptied her beer. She glanced over at Sylvie and raised the now empty beer bottle. "You want another one? It's only–" she looked at the clock. "Eight. You start at like 7:00am right?"

Sylvie nodded. "7:30am. So, yeah, grab me another one," she smiled.

A few hours later, Sylvie got up to head to bed. Bidding goodnight to Kim, she headed towards her spare room, yawning as she went. She was almost inside the room when Kim spoke from behind her. Sylvie turned.

"You should know," Kim said. "Antonio does really like you. He was totally out of it at work today. Everyone noticed. He was acting really distant, really odd. I didn't know why at first, and now I do."

Sylvie dropped her gaze to the floor, suddenly a little embarrassed.

"Syl, I care about you. I really do. But I care about Antonio too. So just..." she paused and met Sylvie's gaze. "Don't break his heart, yeah? I don't think he can deal with a heartbreak right now."

* * *

Avoiding Gabby at work was virtually impossible, as the two worked together almost all the time. Sylvie didn't plan to avoid Gabby either – she knew that Gabby wasn't her brother and that it wouldn't be worth the trouble, but the more time she spent around Gabby, the more her heart was hurting from being away from Antonio.

It was lunch time, and much to most of the firehouses dismay, Sylvie hadn't cooked lunch for the firefighters. They'd all eaten whatever they could find. Cruz and Otis were eating noodles, Mouch had a sandwich from home and Herrmann was eating some sort of salad.

Gabby, sitting beside her, was munching on a sandwich too, one that she'd made in the firehouse. She was reading a newspaper on the table in front of her when her phone rang.

Sylvie glanced over at her, noticing Gabby's brow furrow as she read the caller name – Erin. She stood up instantly, putting the phone to her ear and ignoring her sandwich.

Everyone in the room looked at Gabby as she left, walking straight out of the room and down the corridor, presumably to the beds or to Matt's office.

Sylvie glanced over at Cruz, sitting opposite her on the long table.

"What do you think that's about?"

Cruz shrugged. "Who knows? Did you see who was calling?"

"Yeah, it was Erin Lindsay, from over at the 21st."

He frowned, and then shrugged again. "Maybe it's from a case? I don't know. I'm sure we'll get answers soon," he paused and took a bite of his noodles. With his mouth full, he continued his sentence. "By the way, are you heading to Molly's tomorrow?"

"I don't think so," Sylvie admitted.

She would have liked to go to Molly's, but for all she knew, Antonio was hanging out there every night, either getting drunk or waiting with crossed fingers for her to show up. She didn't want to go for that reason. They were on a break, and seeing him would ruin that wall that she'd put up to keep him out until she was ready.

Cruz sighed. "Damn, I thought you would be."

Sylvie shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. I'm sure you'll have a good time regardless."

Shrugging, Cruz shook his head. "Yeah, maybe, but I doubt it."

He dove back into eating his sandwich before she could reply.

Ten minutes later, Gabby emerged back into the main room. Matt was at her side, and both of them had worried looks on their faces. Stella frowned as she saw them, and Sylvie couldn't help but feel worried too.

"What's going on?" Severide asked, raising an eyebrow.

Matt shook his head. "We've got to go and check something out, we'll be back later. Herrmann, you're in charge until I get back. Stella, can you switch over to ambo for the afternoon with Brett? It's urgent."

Stella nodded. "You got it, lieutenant."

Everyone watched as both of them left the firehouse. Sylvie frowned and turned back to Cruz. He'd finished his noodles by now, and was now wearing the same worried expression as Sylvie.

"What did you say about those answers, Cruz?" She raised an eyebrow.

* * *

The rest of the day went smoothly. Stella was a good partner over on ambo, and Herrmann took over the role of lieutenant easily when Casey wasn't around. There were three calls in the afternoon, and Stella and Sylvie had to go to all three of them.

Stella pulled into the ambulance bay at Med, instantly hopping out and heading round the back to help Sylvie with their most recent patient – a heart attack victim that had been in the very middle of a fire. A few other ambulances had pulled in before with the other victims.

Natalie and Ethan begin to help straight away as Stella and Sylvie hand their patient off to them. They step up to write out some more paperwork, both eager to head back to the firehouse. It was nearly 9:00pm by the time the call had come in, and it was now much later, nearing 10:30pm. Both of them were tired.

"That was insane," Stella breathed.

Sylvie nodded. "You're telling me. I'm exhausted. I'm about ready to fall into my bed back at the station and sleep for _hopefully_ the rest of the night. Seriously. I'm just hoping that's our last call for this shift."

"You and me both, sister," Stella agreed, signing something down on the piece of paper in front of her. She stifled a yawn as she did so, and Sylvie chuckled – until the yawn reached her and she, too, yawned.

The two of them were about to walk out the door when Maggie said their names and called them over. They headed over to where she was, both a little confused as to why she was calling on them specifically.

"What's up, Maggie?" Stella asked.

Maggie frowned. "I was wondering who they got to replace Gabby. I had no idea you were trained. I suppose that's just luck, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it's pretty good luck. Stella's a good partner," Sylvie admitted.

Was that all this was? Maggie calling them over to inform them that she had no idea that Stella was trained and could take on the duties of a paramedic when she was needed? That seemed how did she know that Gabby wasn't on shift anymore? Her worries, however, disappeared a second later, only to be replaced with new ones.

"I would have thought you'd want to head upstairs and check on them," she said.

Sylvie frowned, eyebrows furrowing. "Check on who?"

Maggie looked taken aback at that, and she shook her head in disbelief. "Gabby and Matt. They're upstairs, with Gabby's brother, Antonio."

Sylvie tensed. It felt like her heart had stopped in her chest, and breathing was a little difficult. Why was Antonio here? And why were Gabby and Matt here too? Was it something to do with the call from Erin? Stella seemed to read her mind as she asked her next question.

"Wait, why is Antonio here?"

"Didn't you hear? I would have thought Gabby would tell you," Maggie paused, eyes full of worry as she looked between Sylvie and Stella – clearly unaware of the current state of Sylvie's relationship with Antonio. "He came in a few hours ago. They were on a job in town, and the suspect got Antonio off guard. He was stabbed. It's lucky he had backup, really–"

Sylvie couldn't hear a word Maggie continued to say She zoned out completely, the blood pounding in her ears and her stomach in knots. Oh, _God._ This is not good, not at all... _stabbed._

Antonio was stabbed.


	29. Chapter 29 - I Can't Lose You

A/N: Sorry for leaving you with that cliffhanger – hopefully this will make up for it! ;)

* * *

"I'll get someone to take you up," Maggie said.

It had taken a moment, but Sylvie had finally calmed down enough to actually hear what Maggie had been saying. Stella, beside her, was staring at her in shock and worry.

"I'm gonna head back to the ambo, yeah? You should see him on your own," Stella said, voice gentle and sweet. Sylvie nodded silently – she agreed.

A nurse appeared that Maggie had found and she escorted Sylvie upstairs. She hadn't been in this part of the hospital since she'd been shot, and her side was throbbing at the memory. And to think that now Antonio was practically in the same boat.

Stabbed. He'd been doing his job, and someone had _stabbed_ him. Surely he was going to be okay, but Sylvie couldn't help but feel awful.

Had he been stabbed because of what Kim said? That he was being odd, a little more reckless, after Sylvie decided that they should have a bit of a break? Was Antonio being stabbed simply because of that? She couldn't breathe.

The nurse stopped outside the room and pointed at the door that he was behind. The curtain was pulled over the glass so that Sylvie couldn't see a thing.

After the nurse had disappeared, Sylvie took a deep breath. She could do this. This was Antonio – the person she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. Lying injured in a hospital bed, potentially because of her. She shook her head. _She could do this._ This was easy. This was nothing.

She took one step closer toward the door, and panic flared up. She couldn't do this. This was too soon. Facing Antonio, even facing Gabby and Matt after this... it was impossible. At the last minute, Sylvie turned away from the door and hurried back towards the elevator, shoving her hands in her pockets.

She couldn't deny the hurt she felt about Antonio being hurt, or the feelings about not going in to see him, but the idea of seeing him so injured... it was too much for her. She kept her head down as she walked back through the emergency room and back to Stella and the ambo.

Stella, thankfully, didn't ask questions when Sylvie climbed up inside the ambo and put on her seatbelt. She just pulled away from Med without a second thought. Sylvie sighed and let her head fall back against the back of the seat, trying not to dwell on the fact that Antonio was back at Med, injured, potentially because of her.

* * *

Kim was at work when Sylvie woke up on her day off. There was a note left on the kitchen counter, telling her that she had bought new yogurt for breakfast, and that she'd be home around seven. Sylvie had no plans for the day. She hadn't seen Gabby since the time she left the firehouse, and the rest of the shift the day before had been pretty uneventful.

Sylvie served herself up some yogurt, and found a banana to cut up and eat with it. It was nearly mid-day, and the only reason Sylvie was up so early after such a long shift was because she simply couldn't sleep not knowing if Antonio was okay or not. She knew that she should have gone and seen him when she had the chance, but that would have been painful too. She just wasn't sure how to handle it.

After breakfast, Sylvie changed out of her pyjamas and pulled her laptop out, getting comfortable on Kim's couch and trying to find something to do – perhaps watch a film, or catch up on some TV. She clicked on a movie, ready to read the synopsis, when there was a knock on the door.

Frowning, Sylvie stood up and crossed Kim's apartment, forgetting to look through the peep hole and pulling the door open.

Gabby stood on the other side.

She smiled sadly at Sylvie. "Can I come in? I think we need to talk."

Sylvie's heart was beating faster at the mere sight of Gabby. She hadn't been intentionally avoiding her, and it was just luck that she didn't have to work with her all day yesterday, but still, she wasn't ready to see any members of Antonio's family.

As soon as the two were sat on the couch, and Sylvie's laptop closed, Gabby began to talk.

"Antonio is doing well," she said, beginning strong. Sylvie held her breath – this was going to be difficult. "They caught the guy who did it, and he's going to have a few weeks to months recovery, but he's going to be okay."

"That–that's good," Sylvie nodded, her voice high pitched and _awkward._

Gabby smiled and nodded. "Yeah, it really is. He, uh, he asked me this morning about you, actually. Maggie said that she sent you up to see him, but we didn't see you there yesterday."

Sylvie took a deep breath. "Uh, she did, actually. I, um, I chickened out. I couldn't. I just– I started to panic and worry about everything and so I just left... I should have come in to see how he was doing but I just... I couldn't breathe, Gabby."

Gabby smiled sadly at Sylvie. "Hey, it's okay. But just... you gotta see him, okay? He misses you, and he wants to talk to you. Even if you're on a break – yes, he told me about that – he wants to talk. And I think you should."

"You're right," Sylvie sighed, slouching back on the couch. "It's just hard."

"I know it is. But it'll be worth it. You two have a lot to work out."

Sylvie hummed and nodded slowly. "We do... but I– I just– I can't help but feel like this is all my fault, Gabby. I mean... Kim said Antonio was acting weird at work, being distant and different... what if he– what if he got caught off guard because of _me_? I couldn't... I couldn't live with that."

She hadn't even noticed, but tears had slowly started to slide down her cheeks. Even the idea of Antonio being hurt because of her caused her more pain than she'd care to admit. She sniffed, and Gabby frowned, instantly moving to wrap her arms around her and pull her closer.

"Hey, don't you dare think that, okay? It was not your fault. Antonio was caught off guard, yeah, but that's just because the guy was hiding and Antonio couldn't see him. It's not because he was thinking about you. It's not your fault, not at all."

Sylvie appreciated the hug – she didn't like the fact that she was sobbing into Gabby's shoulder, but it was truly what she needed, a Dawson hug. Even the thought of hugging Antonio made her heart flutter, but for now this was all she had, and the friendship she had with Gabby was enough to make her feel stronger and take away the thought of Antonio getting hurt because of her.

Gabby rubbed her back and soothed her until she calmed down. Sylvie eventually pulled away and rubbed her eyes. She sniffed again, and shook her head.

"I have to go and see him."

Gabby nodded. "Yeah, Syl, you do."

* * *

Antonio's face lit up when he saw Sylvie standing at the door of his room. As soon as Gabby had left, Sylvie had cleaned herself up, done her best to get rid of her teary eyes, and left Kim's apartment, heading straight to the hospital.

She was afraid to see Antonio, in all honesty, but she knew she needed to conquer that fear. He was hurt, and even though she knew now that it had nothing to do with her, she couldn't help but feel bad. This was the person she cared about more than anyone, and him being hurt truly broke her heart.

"How are you doing?" She asked, voice soft as she wandered further into the room.

Antonio looked rough. He was propped up on the bed with a pillow, and his face was a little paler than usual. She couldn't see the wound, as he had the blankets up around his chest, but honestly she didn't want to.

"I've been better," he admitted.

She smiled at that and moved to sit on the chair beside his bed. He reached out a hand, and without a second thought she took it in her own and gave it a squeeze.

"You scared the living daylights out of me, you know that?" She muttered.

Antonio chuckled, and then winced. Her eyes flicked up to him straight away. He waved her worry away with a hand and shook his head. "I'm fine, it's nothing."

Sylvie sighed. "Antonio, I–I don't want to lose you, ever."

"You won't," he shook his head. "I'm sorry, baby. I'm sorry for scaring you."

"No, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for overreacting – you were just worried and you–"

He cut her off. "No, baby, no. You don't need to apologise. If anyone here needs to apologise, it's me. I'm the one that was being stupid, stupid and stubborn. I was so worried when you said you wanted a break. I don't want to lose you either."

She smiled sadly up at him, her eyebrows knitted together. "You won't."

"Listen," Antonio said, voice quiet. He squeezed her hand and looked down at her, meeting her gaze. His eyes were full of emotion, and her heart fluttered at the sight. "Sylvie Brett, I'm in love with you. Completely and utterly head over heels in love with you. I don't want to spend another day without you in my life. The idea of being without you is one I can't even comprehend, baby. So, if you'll let me, I want to be back in your life. I want to be with you. To _really_ be with you."

Sylvie could have sworn her heart had stopped beating. There were definitely tears in her eyes and she couldn't believe what he was saying. In love with her. _Completely and utterly head over heels in love._ She took a breath, and then smiled up at him.

"Well, I guess it's a good thing I'm in love with you too, I suppose," she grinned. At that, she stood up from the chair and leant over the side of the bed, pressing her lips to his. He smiled into the kiss, one of his hands moving to her waist as they kissed. It was a bit of an awkward position to be kissing in, he had to admit, but regardless, he didn't care. Because Sylvie Brett was _kissing_ him, and that was all that mattered.

She pulled away a few moments later, almost gasping for breath, yet there was still a smile plastered to her face. "Antonio," she muttered, leaning in closer to him, so their faces were only inches apart. "Don't scare me like that again, okay? I don't want to lose you. I _can't_ lose you. How on earth are we going to have kids if you go and die on me, huh?"

He smirked at that, and pressed his lips to hers again. She chuckled and kissed him back passionately. _This_ was what Sylvie was afraid of? She had nothing to be afraid of, nothing at all. Because the man she loved was alive and in her arms, and they were going to be just fine.


End file.
